SANITATION 
IN THE 

MODERN HOME 





Class .j_4J_^ 

Book _A4^ 

CopyrightN"* 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSrc 



SANITATION 

IN THE 

MODERN HOME 



A suggestive guide to the architect 

and house owner in designing 

and building a residence 

providing a healthful 

comfortable and 

convenient 

horr-e- 



Edited by 

JNO. K. ALLEN 

Member American Society Inspectors of Plumbing and Sanitary Engineers 

Associate Member American Society Heating and 
Ventilating Engineers 

Editor of "Domestic Engineering" 



CHICAGO 

DOMESTIC ENGINEERING 

1907 



LIBBARY of CONGRESS 
Two Cooies Received 

MAR. 9J90? 

n Copyright Entry 
COPY B. 



COPYRIGHT 

DOMESTIC ENGINEERING 

1907 



<0 



ini 



FOREWORD 

The architect is a many-sided man, — but not 
more versatile than the requirements of his profes- 
sion demand. To his abiUty to interpret and ex- 
press artistic sense, he must add practical knowl- 
edge and even more, — he must possess technical 
skill in many lines of constructive work. He must 
be a master of architectural history and at the same 
time have a practical knowledge of the composition 
of a satisfactory plaster ; he must know tone values 
and also be able to calculate strains ; he must have 
the gift to understand the meagerly expressed needs 
of his clients and formulate them into a structure 
which will meet those needs in an appropriate man- 
ner ; and he must also possess a knowledge of prac- 
tical structural details which will combine, with an 
artistic exterior, comfort, safety and utility within. 

There is little need for additional publications 
which present the artistic side of architecture. 
Sumptuous architectural pubHcations in book and 



periodical form fully supply this demand. But the 
home builder of today demands far more than an 
artistic structure; he requires a home in which 
health shall be assured, convenience studied, and 
comfort provided. 

The American people are accumulating material 
wealth so rapidly that they now demand many con- 
veniences which a generation ago would have been 
considered unnecessary, and others which even ten 
years ago would have been considered luxuries 
which only the very rich could afford. The mod- 
ern American home must have a perfect system of 
cold and hot water supply ; an inoffensive and sani- 
tary system of disposing of household wastes ; an 
adequate system of automatically controlled heat- 
ing combined with ventilation, and a convenient 
and complete scheme of artificial lighting. 

The demands made upon the architect by the 
home builder for all these accessories to a model 
modern residence have been prodigally met by the 
enterprising and resourceful American manufac- 
turers. They have studied every need, have fore- 
seen every demand and present the necessary means 
to insure every home, humble or luxurious, a water 



supply and sewerage system and a heating and 
lighting plant which may almost be said to be be- 
yond criticism. 

Twenty-five years' journalistic experience in sani- 
tary work has led me to suggest the preparation of 
this volume, which will prove useful, I trust, to the 
home builder in the fond study which precedes the 
services of the architect. It should furnish the 
non-technical reader many ideas which, when in- 
corporated into the home structure, will add greatly 
to its usefulness, healthfulness and comfort. 

Jno. K. Allen. 

Chicago, January, 1907. 



CONTENTS 

Chapter I. 

Selection of a Building Site. Things to be con- 
sidered. Present and future value. The lot the 
only real security for present or future loans. Its 
value is the basis for rentals. Its selection with 
reference to light and air. Engineering and sani- 
tary considerations. 

Chapter II. 

Preparation of the Soil. Surface drainage. Sub- 
soil drainage. Laws of flow of sub-soil waters. 
Catch basins. Care of storm waters. Roof gut- 
tering and rain water leaders. 

Chapter III. 

The Ideal Home. The Modern Housekeeper's 
View. It must be sanitary. Easily kept in con- 



dition. Household operations guided b}' scientific 
laws and not by chance. General considerations 
as to dryness, light, floors, interior arrangement 
and furniture. 



Chapter IV. 

What a modern Housekeeper Wants : The porch. 
The vestibule. The hall. Reception room. The 
parlor. Living room. The library. The den. 
Dining room. Butler's pantry. The kitchen. The 
cellar. Wine closet. The laundry. The nursery. 
The chambers. Bath room. The garret. 

Chapter V. 

The cellar. The walls. Damp-proofing. Cellar 
floors. Underneath the floor. Soil drainage. 
House drains. Self-cleaning drains. Soil pipe, 
and connections to the sewer. Cellar drainage. 
Back water gates. Automatic cellar and ash pit 
drainers. Floor drains. Fuel storage and con- 
veniences. Vegetable rooms. Wine closets. Tool 
room. Light in the cellar. Cellar ventilation. 



Chapter VI. 

The Laundry. The floor. Laundry trays. 
Laundry heaters. Laundry dryers. Laundry ma- 
chinery suited to the home. Hot water supply. 
Laundry conveniences. 

Chapter VII. 

Heating by Steam. Its advantages. Types of 
steam house-heating boilers. Damper regulation. 
Pipe covering. Radiation. Window radiation. 
Wall radiation. Radiator valves. Radiator shields. 
Automatic air valves. Indirect steam heating. 
Floor and wall registers. Air filtering chambers. 
Vacuum heating systems. 

Chapter VIII. 

Heating by Hot water. Its advantages. Types 
of house-heating hot water boilers. Draft regula- 
tors. Expansion tanks. Heat retainers and heat 
economizers. Special circulation fittings. Radia- 
tors. Wall and windovv^ radiators. Radiator valves. 
Radiator Air valves. System of piping. 



Chapter IX. 

Heating by Warm Air. Its advantages. Types 
of warm air furnaces. Combination warm air and 
steam, and warm air and hot water heaters. Aux- 
ihary heating coils and sections. Draft regulation. 
Location of furnace. Brick work. Fresh air sup- 
ply. Warm air flues. Furnace pipe and fittings. 
Wall and floor reg^isters. 



'fe' 



Chapter X. 

Ventilation. Quality of air. Amount of air re- 
quired. Preparation of air for breathing. Humidi- 
fying air. Drying air. Filtering air. Varied sys- 
tems of ventilation. 

Chapter XL 

Temperature Control. Various systems em- 
ployed. Results to be obtained must provide com- 
fort, safety and fuel economy. 

Chapter XII. 

Cold Water Supply. Connection with city main, 
yard hydrants and street washers. Setting of 



meters. Stop and waste cocks. Filtering. Storage 
of water. Water lifts. Cistern water supply. Do- 
mestic water works service for detached homes. 
Rams. Pmnps. Windmills and towers. Plumbing 
brass goods ; laundry tray bibbs ; kitchen sink bibbs ; 
basin cocks ; ball cocks. 

Chapter XIII. 

Hot Water Supply. Heating water and storing 
it. Range boiler heaters. Automatic water heating 
systems. Tank heaters. Instantaneous water heat- 
ers. Hot water temperature control. 

Chapter XIV. 

The Kitchen. Proper flooring. Windows. The 
kitchen sink. Grease traps. The cooking range. 
Ventilation. Refrigerator room. Pantries. But- 
ler's pantry and its equipment. 

Chapter XV. 

The Bathroom. In proportion to its use the 
most sumptuous room in the house. Light and air. 
The baths, shower, tub, sitz and foot. The lava- 



tory. The water closet, washout, washdown, syphon 
jet, or flushing valve; the plumbing woodwork; 
high tanks and low tanks. Traps. Bath-room ac- 
cessories. Out of door water closets, anti-freezing 
and frost proof. 



Chapter XVI. 

Lighting the home. Gas as an illuminant. 
Individual gas plants. Proper distribution of gas. 
Clever and useful gas appliances. Acetylene light- 
ing plants. Lighting by electricity. Economical 
devices in electric lamps. Individual electric plants. 



Chapter XVII. 

The Stable. Stable heating and plumbing. 

Water supply. Special stable drainage. Sanitary 

care of manure. Carriage washers. Stable fittings. 



Chapter XVIIL 

Electricity in the IModern Home, 
and great serviceability. 



Its new uses 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN 
HOME. 



Chapter I. 



SELECTION OF A BUILDING SITE. 

Things to be considered. Present and future value. 
The lot the only real security for present or 
future loans. Its value is the basis for rentals. 
Its selection with reference to light and air. 
Engineering and sanitary conditions. 

TT VERY often happens that Destiny has made 
the choice of the home site before we have 
had a chance to get in a word on the subject. We 
are placed in the position of the man who was up- 
braided for not having chosen more wisely his 
ancestors. But if the irrevocable has not been 
done we may have many helps in modern ideas of 
what a home site should be. 

The ideal home site for a family of moderate in- 
come would be within half an hour's ride from the 
husband's place of business, upon a side street 
half a -block to two blocks from the line of 

13 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



transportation, so as to be away from the noise of 
traffic. If a spot can be found a few feet higher 
than the surrounding land it should have unhesitat- 
ing preference. Such a place is certain to have 
better drainage and a better circulation of air. 
Good drainage under the modern conditions of 
sanitary plumbing insures a speedy removal of all 
filth from which noisome and injurious gases might 
arise. The free circulation of air has the effect of 
diluting such gases as do escape from drains, 
sewers or decaying organic matter. While foul 
smells serve as a warning that an enemy is abroad, 
not all foul smells appear to have a serious effect 
upon the health of human kind. The most that 
can be said against disagreeable odors as a whole 
is that they are not esthetic, and the ideal home 
must have a situation where they are not too 
much in evidence. Such a home should be in a 
strictly residence neighborhood, where the streets 
are kept tidy, the lawns pretty, and the garbage is 
collected regularly from fly-proof cans. 
y^ Quiet is a health essential quite forgotten by 
many people. Complete relaxation with sound and 
undisturbed sleep in a quiet neighborhood is the 
best restorative for the man who spends six days 
a week up to his armpits in the tide of business 
affairs. Therefore, choose the home site as far 
from the all-night noises as conditions will permit. 

14 



/ 



/f 



STUDY THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 



New neighborhoods are to be preferred rather 
than old ones because all the new houses are likely 
to have the latest and best in sanitary plumbing 
and one is less likely to suffer from the laxities of 
his neighbors. The spirit of a new neighborhood 
is more likely to be that of today while the old lo- 
cality is in the straggling and irregular part of the 
procession of progress. People who own the houses 
in which they live are more painstaking in the care 
of their properties, and the ideal homesite would be 
among such neighbors. Before purchasing a lot 
in a newly opened part of a city it is best to ascer- 
tain if sevv-ers, water, gas and paving are all in 
and to find out the amount of local assessments 
standing against the property. It is well also to 
look out for the cost of possible street extensions 
which sometimes add considerably to one's taxes. 
Disregard for these things often leads to paying too 
much for a lot. 

On which side of the street shall I build? Indi- 
vidual preferences appear to make full use of all 
four possibilities. The prevailing direction of the 
wind influences many. In the northern part of 
the United States the east or west side of the 
street, if the streets are closely built, would provide 
best for a good circulation of air, the prevailing 
wind being from the west. In St. Louis and the 
south generally the prevailing wind is from the 



15 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



south or a little to the southwest, so that the north 
or south side of the street would give the advan- 
tage of a freer circulation of air through the house. 
If one desired to have a plant-room the south side 
of the street would be most convenient. Then the 
conservatory could be made a part of the living 
or dining room at the back and not disturb the 
architectural harmony of the facade facing the 
street. If placed upon the south side of a house 
facing east or west, unless the lot were unusually 
wide, the neighboring house would obstruct too 
much the slanting rays of the winter sun. On ac- 
count of the considerable litter from such a feature 
of a home, the conservatory should be at or near the 
back of the house where the refuse may be handled 
and disposed of without making the process a public 
affair. It was the fashion in the old days to have 
in the front yard of the southern home a white- 
washed cabin, the home of the house servant. No 
matter how small the yard the sign of the slave 
ownership was where custom placed it. But the 
aristocratic spirit of today expresses itself in flow- 
ers and lawn and unimpeachable tidiness. 

The probable increase in the value of a lot is 
to be considered. A new locality, particularly if 
one is a pioneer, has distinct advantage in this re- 
gard, although the cheapness of the lot may debar 
one from securing a satisfactory loan. Lenders of 

i6 



IMPROVEMENTS IN VALUE. 



money are reluctant to take risks in uncertain sub- 
urbs. The lot value, it will be seen, is a governing 
factor in securing a loan. Money is easier to se- 
cure, interest rates are more favorable and a larger 
loan on the investment may be obtained in a resi- 
dence district where the conditions are established 
and the future of the locality is not in doubt. In 
fixing the rentals of dwellings the lot value enters 
into the calculation. The value of the lot may in- 
crease while the house deteriorates from age and 
use, and will furnish a reason for the maintenance 
of rentals as high or higher than w^hen the house was 
new. New and better lines of transportation com- 
ing into the district may increase the rental value 
and therefore the value of the whole property. No 
such revolution of real estate values ever took place 
in American cities and sviburbs, in fact, in all pro- 
gressive countries, as followed upon the installa- 
tion of electric transit lines in the years 1887 to 
1895. The electric car lines have been great level- 
ers of real estate values in and about cities, where 
a five-cent fare will take a passenger one block or 
a hundred. A town a mile square has 640 acres or 
about 6,400 small city lots. Add one mile all around 
and you have 5,760 acres or 57,600 city lots, nine 
times as many as in the single square mile. Yet, 
with good transportation, the outlying portions are 
in many respects more desirable for a home than 



17 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



the parts close in, assuming that the business dis- 
trict is in the central portion. When buying a lot 
it pays to go shopping to find the best locality, the 
best transportation, best drainage, best ne^hbors 
and best bargain that one's funds will command. 

The suburbs around Chicago present a greater 
variety of land elevations than are to be found im- 
mediately within the city. The high ground at 
Blue Island is occupied by many beautiful homes, 
and on account of its sightliness, one almost won- 
ders that a vacant lot remains. Chicago has one 
of the most difficult problems in drainage in Amer- 
ica, solved for a time at least by the great canal, 
which sends its sewage gulfward. In New Or- 
leans, which is below the level of the river in the 
flood season, the difficulty is one degree worse, 
drainage being accomplished only by forcing the 
sewage by machinery into Lake Pontchartrain, 
Lake Bogue and the lower Mississippi river. 

Many of the older cities of the east, such as Al- 
bany, N. Y., and the places along the Hudson, are 
almost entirely on sloping ground, and instead of 
problems in drainage they have the problem of 
keeping within bounds the surface water after heavy 
storms. While the side-hill site has its incon- 
veniences of inaccessibility it is invariably a health- 
ful one with sightliness as an added attraction. All 
about upper New York it is the aim of housebuild- 

i8 



SUNSHINE IN ALL ROOMS. 



ers to have one or more windows commanding a 
view of the Hudson or the Sound. There is lack 
neither of good drainage or good air, for soft coal 
is taboo in New York and the air is as clear as 
that of a mountain village. Individual preference 
expresses itself in a variety of ways. Karl Bitter, 
the famous sculptor, mindful no doubt of his boy- 
hood scenes on the Danube, has built him a home at 
the top of the palisades above Hoboken. He had 
to restore the top of the crag with a wall of ce- 
ment and stone to make a wee bit of a back yard. 
Nobody can see his ash barrel unless he is so pry- 
ing as to ride by in an airship. Mr. Bitter has no 
drainage or fresh air problem. 

Out on the desert of southern Idaho, when lay- 
ing out one of the cities that shall grow as the re- 
sult of irrigation, upon the entire square mile of 
the town-site the intersecting streets were so planned 
as to be at diagonals with the geographical paral- 
lels and meridians. This arrangement has no other 
purpose tiian to have the houses present their cor- 
ners to the four cardinal points of the compass and 
to insure a liberal am.ount of sunshine for all rooms. 
There are thus no north rooms in Twin Falls, Idaho, 
this, too, in a region where the climate is far more 
mild in winter than in Chicago, zero weather com- 
ing but rarely. 



19 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



In the extremely humid region of the Pacific 
Northwest another problem is presented but often 
disregarded. One may see the moss growing thrift- 
ily upon the northern slopes of shingle roofs. This 
might have been avoided and much dampness 
within the houses prevented by the simple expe- 
dient of facing the houses or building the roofs so 
that the slopes were east and west, where the sun 
could dry them and kill the sprouting mosses. Bet- 
ter yet would be the use of metal roofs. 

Californians, who are principally only eastern 
folk transplanted to the Golden State, are fond of 
the bungalow, a one-story house in ten thousand 
shapes. It is generally vine covered and always 
low and spready. Bungalows are often perched on 
round barren knolls, on hillsides and even on the 
dry desert with only a small orchard of orange 
trees around them, supplied with water by means 
of individual pumping plants. In the cities and 
towns they have all the advantages of organized, 
modern sanitation. 

In the rural districts anywhere the greatest need 
of a careful selection of the home site exists. With 
appalling frequency we see the stables and pig 
sties, the hen houses and cattle yards on ground 
higher than the family dwelling, the surface water 
running dangerously near the family well and the 



20 



BUILD ON HIGH GROUND. 



earth becoming saturated by years of use with the 
liquids from the animal quarters. 

The country home should be on high ground, 
well away from sources of possible pollution, for 
purposes of drainage and for the pleasurable view 
such a situation affords. Even the farmer, under 
the influence of modern thinking and the more 
general appreciation of the esthetic, is coming to 
regard a good view of the landscape as something 
of an asset in his farm possessions. It is a part 
of the same broadening of mind that induces him 
to put into his house the modern plumbing. To 
be on high ground with one's house is like being up 
a good, healthy tree if a pack of wolves found you 
alone in the woods. You are out of reach of 
prowling effluvia that might bring sickness to some 
susceptible member of the family and you are sure 
that all waste will be taken quickly to a safe dis- 
tance from the house. That dangerous pest, the 
anopheles, or malaria-breeding mosquito, which 
thrives in stagnant pools of water, is less likely to 
make a successful attack if the house is so situated 
that the evening breeze sweeps all around the dwell- 
ing. Big trees should not grow too thick near the 
house, however welcome their summer shade. A 
dry cellar is quite as desirable as a proper grade 
in the drainage pipes. 



21 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



Many of the old farm houses are found in shel- 
tered hollows, where in fact it is colder than on 
the knolls. Cold air drains to the low places and 
fog and dampness linger in the hollows. Modern 
methods of building, with cheap devices for giv- 
ing great warmth to houses, permit the construc- 
tion of houses in exposed places. The entrances 
may be so disposed and protected that winter winds 
shall not interfere with family comfort and storm 
windows will prevent the too rapid radiation of 
heat from the window panes. The rural home may 
have, and thousands of them do have, all the com- 
forts and conveniences of city dwellings and it is 
in the country that a vast field for future business 
in home improvements lies in all the lines con- 
cerned with domestic engineering. 



22 



Chapter 11. 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 

Surface drainage. Sub-soil drainage. Laws of 
floiV' of sub-soil ivaters. Catch basins. Care of 
storm waters. Roof guttering and rain water 
. leaders. 

T NDIVIDUAL preference steps in so frequently 
with its ideas and fancies that no hard-and- 
fast rules safely may be promulgated by any au- 
thority. Most rules are susceptible of variation in 
their application, while still having as their founda- 
tion the established principles on which well in- 
formed men in the several branches of domestic 
engineering agree. The purpose of these chapters 
is to present so near as may be done the best prac- 
tice of the times, with full recognition of the fact 
that there exist many points of controversy. 

If the prospective house-builder can be made to 
feel that the family plumber is quite as much a 
health necessity as the family doctor the propa- 
ganda of correct plumbing and scientific sanita- 
tion will be appreciably advanced. The question of 
drainage, so vital in the house itself, should extend 
to the grounds surrounding the house, that they 



23 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



may be kept sweet and healthful. Therefore cer- 
tain laws governing the drainage of soils should 
be understood. 

The water in the soil, whether resulting directly 
from storms or flowing down from higher eleva- 
tions, may be considered as of two kinds, the film 
water and the free water. The film water is that 
which surrounds each particle of the soil. When 
the earth is damp, yet crumbles easily and is in per- 
fect condition for easy cultivation, it contains film 
water only. The free water is the surplus. When 
there is more than enough to surround each par- 
ticle of earth with a film then the soil is said to con- 
tain free water. The purpose of farm drainage 
and of drainage as applied to the premises sur- 
rounding a dwelling is to get rid of this free water 
before it can become stagnant and sour the earth 
or penetrate the cellar walls to the detriment of the 
family health. Gravitation tends to take the free 
water down to the non-porous strata or the water 
sheet, while the capillarity of the soil tends to bring 
it back to the surface there to dispose of it through 
evaporation from the surface of the soil itself or 
through the roots and thence through the leaves 
of plants and trees. The free water fills the air spaces 
that would otherwise exist in the soil and has the 
effect of smothering the useful plants whose roots 
must have air in greater quantity than that sup- 



24 



SOIL DRAINAGE. 



plied by the free water. Free water contains a cer- 
tain amount of oxygen but not enough for the habits 
of the more useful plants. The habits of water 
plants need not be considered in this connection. 
Certain soils require no artificial drainage for 
the disposition of surface or storm waters. Their 
porous character makes them readily absorbent of 
all surplus water, which is soon carried beyond the 
depth of plant roots. The gravelly and sandy soils 
present no problems in drainage but rather vex us 
with the difficulty of retaining enough moisture for 
a thrifty lawn and healthy shrubs and trees for the 
yard. The ideal soil for the yard is a loam with 
plenty of hum'us or decaying vegetable matter well 
mixed through it. Humus is extremely retentive 
of moisture in the form of film water, and is the 
best component of the soil for carrying the grow- 
ing plants through seasons of drought. A heavy 
clay soil may be made tillable and productive by 
mixing with it an abundance of sand, humus, in the 
form of loose stable compost, or coal ashes. The 
sand and coal ashes do not add much to the rich- 
ness of the soil but they so change the mechanical 
structure as to make more readily available for the 
plants the plant foods contained in the clay. With 
the question of soil fertility, however, we are not 
here concerned. By improving the mechanical 
structure of the soil we improve its natural drain- 



25 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



age. The close texture of heavy clay tends to hold 
storm waters long on the surface while the lighter 
soils, with their open texture, convey the surplus 
water quickly to the sub-soil and to the yard or 
sub-soil drains, if provided. 

When the cellar has been excavated it may 
be determined whether or not it is necessary to 
have drains placed below the wall foundations. If 
the natural conditions appear to require such drains 
they should be made of common drain tile laid with 
open joints placed at least six inches from the 
wall outside. They should discharge into a water- 
tight catch basin and thence through a properly 
trapped vitrified pipe drain to the main sewer con- 
nection. 

Protection should also be secured against bad 
ground air. Changes in barometric pressure alter- 
nately pump air into and out of the ground, and 
unless the ground air is kept free from contamina- 
tion, or is, by air-tight foundations, kept from en- 
tering the house, undesirable conditions may be 
found to exist. 

Much future trouble will be saved the house- 
holder if the space between the finished walls of the 
cellar and the surrounding earth be kept free, dur- 
ing the construction of the house, from shavings 
and other rubbish and, when the walls have seasoned, 
packed with firm, clean earth. Storm water may 

26 



GRADING THE GROUND. 



keep the walls of a cellar perpetually wet if this 
precaution is not taken, especially when no effectual 
provision is made for the underdrainage of the 
walls or carrying away storm waters. 

After the construction of the walls comes the 
grading of the grounds. This should be so planned 
as to throw the storm water and the water from 
hydrants and waste pipes toward one or more com- 
mon centers, each provided with catch basins. The 
catch basins for surface drainage should be at 
least 12 inches in diameter, water tight, with a 
6-inch discharge pipe effectively trapped below the 
frost line. The trap should be accessible so that it 
rhay be cleaned. The catch basin should be pro- 
tected with a screen cover. If placed in a driveway 
or court where traffic occurs and the cover is liable 
to injury the frame and screen should be of heavy 
cast-iron to resist the impact of heavy wheels. 

Another form of surface catch basins consists of 
two large sections of vitrified pipe set on end upon 
a four-inch stone or cement foundation, which 
should extend at least three inches beyond the pipes. 
It should be water tight and the discharge should 
be effectively trapped as in the case of the basin 
described in the foregoing paragraph. Inasmuch as 
the purpose of a catch basin is to arrest the flow 
of sediment and prevent that which is not soluble 
from entering the sewer the discharge pipe should 



27 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



be placed well above the bottom of the basin, the 
distance depending upon the dimensions of the 
basin and the area draining into it. 

In the subsoil drainage of the yard the common 
tile drain pipes are laid with open joints two to 
three feet below the surface, leading to common 
centers and there discharging into catch basins 
which in turn are connected with the sewer with 
proper trap and clean-out. These latter connections 
should be of vitrified pipe or metal. Seepage water 
gathering in tile drains rarely carries sediment in 
appreciable quantity but usually flows clear into the 
catch basin and sewer. Such drains if carrying 
much water sometimes become stopped by the fine 
roots of trees growing into them, but serious dam- 
age is not likely to result from such a cause. 

The disposal of storm waters from the roof re- 
quires consideration. Roof gutters are made of 
sheet tin, galvanized iron, brass and copper. Tin, 
unless kept painted, will rust sooner or later. Heavy 
gauge tin of certain makes has a record of dura- 
bility that recommends it for ordinary uses. The 
common bright tin or sheet iron should never be 
used where durability is required. The real choice, 
perhaps, lies between galvanized iron which should 
be of heavy gauge and copper, with the preference 
in favor of the latter if it is not necessary to con- 
sider present expense. It will last a lifetime or 

28 



RAIN WATER LEADERS. 



several of them if not misused. Especially disap- 
pointing is tin when leaves or washings from the 
shingles clog the gutters or spouts, retaining damp- 
ness from one storm to another. The tin soon 
rusts and breaks down, while even the galvanized 
iron cannot perpetually resist such an attack of cor- 
rosive influences. The copper or brass, however, 
shows no marks of corrosion. 

The vertical leaders or conductors connecting 
with the eaves troughs should have abundant ca- 
pacity for the roof water during the heaviest storms. 
Rain water leaders should be run as straight as 
possible, horizontal runs being avoided. The heads 
to rain water leaders should not be tapering or coni- 
cal. When these pipes are upon the exterior of the 
house they may be galvanized iron, copper or brass, 
the galvanized iron serving the purpose most gen- 
erally and with satisfaction, there being little chance 
of its rusting. Where the pipes are in exposed 
places and liable to injury they should be con- 
nected with the house drain by means of an extra 
heavy length of cast iron pipe extending at least 
4 feet above the ground. In protected corners 
and unused places the connection may be made 
not less than three inches above grade, using oakum 
and cement in the hub end of the pipe to make the 
seal. When vitrified pipe is used in place of cast 
iron for this purpose it is usually broken by acci- 



29 



SAXITATIOX IN THE MODERN HOMR 



dent or by the action of frost soon after its in- 
stallation, a sufficient reason for its disuse. On ac- 
count of exposure to frost the exterior conductors 
or down spouts need to be of larger caliber than 
when tliey are placed inside the building. If con- 
structed of cast iron sections and placed within the 
building the size should not be less than 3 inches, 
and if made of galvanized iron, brass or copper the 
size should not be less than 2 inches in diameter. 
A large roof area requires large sizes. 

Good practice forbids that the roof drains shall 
connect with the ventilating stack of the house 
drain system or that either shall be used for any 
other purpose than that for which it was particu- 
larly constructed. 

When the exterior conductors are placed in al- 
leys or adjacent to drive ways where they may 
be liable to injur}' from passing wagons they should 
be placed in niches in the wall or protected with 
effective wheel guards. 



30 



Cliaptcr III 



THE IDEAL HOME. 

The modern housekeeper's z'iei\.\ It must be sani- 
tary. Easily kept in condition. Household op- 
erations i^^uided by seientific laws and not by 
ehanee. General considerations as to dryness, 
lii^ht, doors, interior arrangement and furniture. 

\X7'iTH the twentieth century has come to the 
modern housekeeper a new ideal — a sani- 
tary ideal — or, perhaps, not a new, but an old 
ideal which the light of modern science has so 
illuminated as to almost revolutionize modern 
housekeeping. We would not say that the social 
and ethical sides of home life are stressed any the 
less, but science goes back of this and says : ''The 
efficiency of each of us depends upon our health, 
and our health upon the conditions under which 
we live." Here then may be seen the aim of the 
modern housekeeper. It is to so plan and care for 
tlie home that its sanitary conditions may be of the 
best, and be most conducive to the health and the 
consequent efficiency of the inmates of the home. 
She realizes that the life of the family with all 
that it means to the race is absolutely dependent 



31 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOiME. 



upon the household life. The conditions of the 
household determine largely the development of a 
race. Look at the homes of a people and you can 
tell much as to their place in the process of civili- 
zation. We have been hampered and are still ham- 
pered in racial progress by the primitive condi- 
tions which exist in many of our homes. We 
cannot expect to develop as we should so long as 
this condition exists. This condition the modern 
housekeeper is overcoming by applying to her home 
the modem conveniences and scientific principles, 
which put the household processes on a par in their 
development, with the intellectual and industrial life 
of our race. The home, she realizes, is a place of 
rest and development for the family, and must pro- 
vide for all those processes w^hich are necessary to 
the life and well being of the family. 

In the planning of a home she has two points of 
view. First she wants a home that is sanitary to 
begin with, and, what is just as important, a home 
that is convenient and is easily kept in a sanitary 
condition. It is only necessary to glance at the fur- 
niture in a modern home to see how this last idea is 
carried out. It is simple and we think it beautiful, 
but back of it all stands the idea of ease in caring 
for it and convenience, which mean so much to the 
modern housekeeper. Have not these facts done 
much to shape public opinion in their favor? We 



32 



BEGIN WITH CLEAR IDEALS. 



look now with much disfavor upon the heavy carved 
furniture so popular not many years past. Back 
of this disfavor probably lies the thought of how 
much time it takes to keep it in the proper condi- 
tion, and how this time might be spent to better 
advantage in other ways. Thus in numberless 
other ways we might illustrate how standards of 
beauty in the past have been broken down by mod- 
ern science, and in their places we have standards 
whose keynotes might be said to be simplicity, con- 
venience, and health. 

In deciding what is a sanitary home the modern 
housekeeper calls to her aid all the scientists, or 
specialists, shall we call them. An expert on soils 
selects for her a suitable site, or if a suitable site is 
not to be had, so fills in or drains the one to be had 
as to make it suitable. Next the architect is called 
in. He draws up the plans and specifications ac- 
cording to the ideas given him by the housekeeper. 
He gives advice as to construction and choice of 
building materials. Thus as each expert is called 
in, he gives advice upon the subject that he knows 
best. It is the business of the housekeeper to har- 
monize these views, and adapt and apply them to 
the life and operations carried on in the home. 

She possesses a clear idea of the essentials of a 
sanitary homiC. She knows just why these essen- 
tials are necessary, and what they mean in terms 



33 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



of the health of the home. But she goes further 
than this. It is for her to see how this standard of 
health is to be mantained. She alone it is who can 
decide how this can best be done. Experience has 
taught her how each of the household tasks can be 
performed most efficiently and with the least ex- 
penditure of energy. She sees how some detail in 
the construction of her home can be changed so as 
to make some task easier, or improve the healthful 
condition of her home. These ideas are formu- 
lated and carried to some technical worker, in what- 
ever line it may be, who works out the ideas for 
her. 

She has a breadth of view possessed by few oth- 
ers. There is no science which she cannot call to 
her aid. The technical part it is impossible for her 
to know, but if she understands just what she wants 
and the principles involved, she can easily tell 
whether the technical product is or is not what it 
is desired to be. The first question with which she 
concerns herself is, "What are the essentials of a 
sanitary home?" The soil expert tells her that she 
must have a dry site, and straightway selects one 
for her, or else drains the one selected so that it will 
be dry or permit of no excessive amount of mois- 
ture. Not because the moisture is in itself harm- 
ful, but because it leads to conditions which are 
harmful. 



34 



IMPORTANCE OF SUNLIGHT. 



But all is not ended here, when a suitable site 
is selected. The foundation and wall of the house 
must be so constructed as not to hold the moisture. 
Many of our best building materials are those in 
which just this thing happens. They are desirable 
because the amount of air which they contain makes 
them poor conductors of heat, but just this condi- 
tion of porosity makes them capable of absorb- 
ing and retaining moisture. When used they should 
be glazed on the outside so as to keep out the mois- 
ture, while still preserving their function as poor 
conductors of heat. 

There should be free access of sunlight to every 
room in the house at some time during the day. 
The importance of sunlight as a germicide, and 
the necessity for it as one of the conditions of 
health, she fully realizes. Instead of keeping her 
windows closely barred for fear of injuring some 
gaudy furniture, the modern housekeeper throws 
open her windows to the free, fresh sunshine, and 
discards as undesirable that furniture which is 
likely to be injured by it. 

Trees and grass are desirable, not only from a 
standpoint of beauty, but also from one of health. 
They should not, however, stand so close to the 
house as to prevent a free circulation of air, or the 
access of sunlight. They serve to protect the house 
from the cold winter winds, temper the hot glare 



35 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



of summer, drink up the moisture from the ground 
and give it out to the atmosphere, and above all, to 
absorb the carbon dioxide resulting from the life 
and operations of the home, and give back the oxy- 
gen so necessary for these operations. 

The house should always be surrounded by a 
circulation of fresh, pure air. This serves both as 
a source of air for the ventilation of the house 
and also to carry away the impure air resulting 
from the operations carried on in the home. Com- 
bined with this should be an efficient system of 
ventilation. The most desirable systems are prob- 
ably those in which heating and ventilating are 
combined, though in such a system one must be 
careful to remember that it is to serve two functions, 
both heating and ventilating. Lack of heat is so 
much more apparent, and the discomforts from it 
are so much more readily recognized, that we are 
apt to stress that side of the question. It is a great 
temptation, in order to lessen expenses, to bring in a 
more difficult problem. If the house is heated with 
steam or hot water directly, there must be some 
smaller amount of air heated to such a temperature 
as to raise the temperature of all the air in the 
room to that desired, while the necessary amount 
of fresh air is not brought in. 

The air brought in should be screened through 
cotton cloth, or some other material, in order to 

36 



VENTILATION. 



rid it of any solid impurities. The frequency with 
which this screen must be changed and cleaned, 
shows just how much this screening is needed. 

In natural ventilation the housekeeper 'has a 
means of natural ventilation provided. When a 
fireplace is in the room, this is easily and simply 
done. A small fire, or simply a lighted lamp, placed 
in the fireplace will create draught enough to ven- 
tilate the room, provided there is an opening for 
the heavier cold air to come in and force the cir- 
culation. When windows alone are to be used for 
ventilation, there are many devices which may be 
used. The object of them all is to get in the de- 
sired amount of air without in any way creating 
a draught in the room which will be perceptible to 
the occupants. At best they are only makeshifts, 
and should only be used where a mechanical sys- 
tem of ventilation is not possible. 

Last but not least in importance we come to the 
water supply and disposal of wastes. The house 
must have a sufficient supply of pure water for do- 
mestic purposes, and there must be means provided 
for the perfect and instant removal of all fluid or 
semi-fluid organic wastes. In the city this is a mu- 
nicipal problem, but if the housekeeper knows the 
water supply of the city to be polluted she must 
take some means to purify that portion which is to 



37 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



be used for drinking purposes, or else get her water 
from some source that she knows to be pure. 

As to the plumbing, this is distinctly a problem 
of the household. The principles involved are sim- 
ple and are thoroughly grasped by the modern 
housekeeper. She demands a high grade of work 
and insists upon the use of the best materials. Even 
though the cost at the beginning is greater, she 
knows that the lessened repairs and the improved 
health of the family will make it more economical 
in the end. In every place she insists upon the 
simplest designs possible to accomplish the desired 
purpose. Wherever possible the pipe, and always 
the fixtures, are left exposed, and where the pipes 
cannot be actually exposed, they are so placed as 
to be easily accessible. In this way is the danger 
of any concealed trouble avoided, and the trouble 
once located is so much more accessible as not to be 
continually put off on account of the difficulty it 
may cause. The traps must always be in perfect 
condition, the height of water in them always being 
deep enough to effect a perfect seal, yet not so deep 
that there will not be sufficient force to carry the 
waste materials over. The traps should all be 
vented to prevent siphonage, and all the pipes 
should be thoroughly ventilated. 

The question of disposal of garbage is in many 
places a serious one. In cities it is usually taken 

38 



HOMES KEPT SANITARILY. 



charge of and disposed of by the city. Where it is 
not, it should if possible be burned. There are 
many devices for this purpose which may be at- 
tached to the ordinary kitchen range. 

All these facts being realized and put into prac- 
tice, the housekeeper knows that she has a sani- 
tary home, but this does not satisfy her. It 
amounts to little for her to start out with a perfectly 
sanitary home unless it may be kept in that condi- 
tion, and it should be easily so kept. She realizes 
the manysidedness of life. She must not only give 
to her family a clean, healthy home, but must give 
something of herself. She cannot spend all of her 
time keeping things as they should be. There are 
other things in life which she must enjoy or else she 
will become one-sided and narrow. This is an age 
of advancement and she must have time to keep up 
or else she will be left behind in the race. 

The servant problem has done much to empha- 
size this phase of the subject. Oftentimes it is pos- 
sible to have only one or possibly no maid. While 
doing her own work the housekeeper is much more 
apt to view the situation from the standpoint of 
the maid, and everything possible to lighten her 
work is done. In this way much time, energy, 
worry, and money may be saved which can much 
more profitably be spent in other directions. 



39 



SAxNITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The next point which concerns the housekeeper 
is, *'How is this to be done?" First of all by a 
careful drawing up of the plan of the house much 
can be done toward this end. Too long have 
women submitted to anything the architect would 
offer, little realizing that they were more compe- 
tent than he to judge of the general plan and ar- 
rangement, while to him might be left the tech- 
nical and constructive details. 

In the making of the plan she takes into con- 
sideration the surroundings, location, climate, sun 
plan, for those rooms most used should have the 
most sunshine, cost, and particularly the adapta- 
tion to the special needs of the family and the op- 
erations carried on in the home. It is the house- 
keeper and the housekeeper alone, who is able to 
see these needs and how the plans may be worked 
out so as to best satisfy them. It is she who lives 
chiefly in the house and knows the processes car- 
ried on there. The modern housekeeper realizes 
this and refuses to accept the type the average 
architect brings to her, but works out for herself 
those details of which an architect would never 
think, but which mean so much towards the con- 
venience, comfort and healthfulness of a house. 

The house m.ust first of all furnish individual 
privacy to the various members of its household. 
The sleeping rooms should be conveniently ar- 



40 



PLANNING ROOMS. 



ranged according to the special needs of the occu- 
pants. All should have plenty of light and fresh 
air, with bathroom near-by. All should be easily 
accessible in such a way as not to interfere with 
the privacy of any other room. Plenty of closet 
space should be provided and all closets and halls 
should be well lighted, for where dark corners are, 
it is much more difficult to clean and dust is much 
more likely to accumulate. The stairs should be 
broad and easy, while straight back stairs should 
be provided for the carrying up of luggage, and 
the carrying out of household wastes. 

In the planning of the lower floor much in the 
way of convenience can be gotten in the arrange- 
ment of the connection of the kitchen with the 
dining-room and other portions of the house. These 
will be considered in detail later with the furnish- 
ings of that portion of the house. 

In the planning of the reception rooms of the 
house, it is well to remember that the home is built 
for the comfort of the family and not for outside 
show. No more reception rooms are provided than 
the needs of the family call for, and the means au- 
thorize. Beyond this they either make impossible 
some more private feature, or entail an unneces- 
sary responsibility upon the care taker. 

Not only in the choice and arrangement of the 
rooms may time and unnecessary work be saved, 



41 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



but also by the convenient arrangement of the fur- 
niture and fixtures within the rooms. Both of 
these features will be taken up and discussed in 
detail later. Now we will consider the attitude of 
the modern housekeeper toward the furnishing and 
interior finish of the house. 

As to the floors, she has some choice in deciding 
the way in which they shall be finished. All have 
in view the same ends — healthfulness and ease of 
care. Carpets she has long ago discarded, as both 
troublesome and unhealthy, serving, as they did, as 
a trap for dust and particles of disease. They 
have been superseded by rugs and polished floors. A 
polished floor is any floor finished smoothly and 
stained, oiled, varnished, waxed or painted. Which 
method is used is determined by the use to which 
the room is to be put and individual preference. 
Hardwood floors are of course the most desir- 
able, but where they are not to be had on account 
of the cost, soft woods can often be so treated as to 
make very good substitutes. 

The daily care of these floors is perhaps greater 
than that of the carpet, but this daily care is so 
simple and the outlay of time and strength is so 
small that it is very little compared with the amount 
of time and strength one must give to a carpeted 
room in the course of a year. Above all this, 
though, it is the healthfulness, cleanliness, and the 



42 



SELECTING WOODWORK. 



knowledge that they really are the most sanitary 
which recommends these floors for use in the mod- 
ern homes. 

The woodwork is chosen with reference to the 
same standards, ease in cleaning, and affording no 
facilities for the lodgment of any impurities. It 
should harmonize with the finish of the floor, and 
should in most cases be smooth, for the carved 
woodwork affords a lodging place for dust and 
requires much more time to keep it in the proper 
sanitary condition. The baseboard should meet the 
floor with a curved joint, — thus doing away with 
the crack, which is apt to serve as a dust trap. 
The same precaution should be taken in the cor- 
ners of the room. If these are built curved in- 
stead of the sharp angular corners the cleaning is 
much facilitated. 

When we come to wall coverings, none in com- 
mon use are very easily or very successfully 
cleaned. So here the standard is one of beauty and 
cheapness. Beauty, because one cannot help but 
realize the effect of the wall covering upon the 
appearance of the room, and consequently upon the 
lives of those people who live within that room. 
Cheapness, because the most effective mode of 
cleansing it is complete removal and replacing by 
new. The special kinds of wall coverings will be 



43 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



considered in the light of their application to the 
different rooms. 

Furniture and draperies are chosen with refer- 
ence to their usefulness. In every case is the need 
of an article of furniture of prime importance, 
and any article which does not fulfill some pur- 
pose should be discarded. To furniture and 
draperies the same standard must be applied, 'Ts 
it easily kept in a sanitary condition?" This being 
kept in mind, much of the useless, fussy furniture, 
even now often seen, will be entirely replaced by 
plain, easily cared for furniture, each piece spe- 
cially adapted to some purpose, and no superfluous 
pieces present. 

Draperies fill a distinct need and are not to be 
discarded in the modern home. They are of such 
a character as to be easily cleaned, and are not 
hung so as to interfere in any way with the venti- 
lation or free circulation of air. 

More and more are the modern conveniences 
coming to be applied to the affairs of the home. 
The woman of today is able to sift out from those 
brought before her attention the ones that are 
worth while. But more than this, woman has left 
the path of literature and language and is now 
entering upon the field of the sciences so long de- 
nied to her. Here she is able to see the practical 
applications of the various sciences to the opera- 



44 



HOUSEWORK SYSTEMATIZED. 



tions in the home as no man ever could, and she 
is quick to apply them to these operations. No 
longer are these operations a matter of chance and 
guesswork, but they have applied to them the 
same laws that are applied in the chemical and 
biological laboratories. 

Last of all, she has systematized the household^ 
work. With the breadth of vision of a college 
woman the various tasks of the household are 
brought together and organized, just as the work 
of any business is organized. There are certain 
set duties at certain times for each servant or 
each of the servants. By thus organizing and 
planning for the daily work, the household tasks 
are put on more of a business basis and much is 
being done to solve the servant problem, which now 
seems to be so perplexing. 

Summing up, the ideal of the modern house- 
keeper is a sanitary ideal. In order to realize this 
ideal she applies the various scientific and biological 
laws to the home. These laws are applied in such 
a way as not only to have a sanitary home, but 
one that may be easily kept in that condition. 
These laws are applied not only to the construc- 
tion of the house itself, but also to its interior finish 
and furnishing. Then, too, these laws are applied 
to the operations carried on in the home. Putting 
on a scientific basis what has been largely a matter 



45 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



of chance, all these operations have been so or- 
ganized as to put them on a firmer, more business- 
like basis and thus help to solve the servant prob- 
lem. This is what the modern housekeeper must 
do, and it is to her we must look for the future ad- 
vancement of our homes, and consequently of our 
race. 



46 



Chapter IV. 

WHAT A MODERN HOUSEKEEPER 

WANTS. 

The porch. The vestibule. The hall. Reception 
room. The parlor. Living room. The*library. 
The den. Dining room. Butler's pantry. The 
kitchen. The cellar. Wine closet. The laun- 
dry. The nursery. The chambers. Bath 
room. The garret. 

^ I "'HE housekeeping routine, even in a dwelling of 
moderate size, entails a vast amount of work 
upon the housekeeper whether she be the wife 
and mother or whether employed for the purpose. 
Whatever may be provided by forethought and mod- 
ern invention to lighten the housekeeper's tasks 
surely is needed by every woman concerned with 
such a responsibility. Often she is not aware of 
the short cuts possible in household work. Indeed 
it may be said that few of the whole number of 
housekeepers have an opportunity to consider the 
question from a scientific standpoint. They look 
upon housekeeping as an inherited duty and go 
about it in the way their mothers taught them. 



47 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



Lack of means compels many to deny themselves 
the fruits of invention which have so materially 
lightened household tasks. But in spite of tra- 
dition and practice from times immemorial the 
housekeeper has made notable progress. A knowl- 
edge of the available helps in household work, 
gained from many sources, has made her more alert 
to reduce in a measure the drudgery of her daily 
routine. 

The architect to whom is entrusted the planning 
and equipment of a house with modern available 
appliances of the best type will perform his duty best 
by considering the housekeeper's point of view and 
conforming his plans to the best household economy. 
He may throw upon the housekeeper an amount 
of work impossible of accomplishment or he may so 
arrange the house and supply it with conveniences 
at moderate cost that what was drudgery will often 
become a pleasure. Many a devoted housekeeper 
has died in harness rather than complain of an 
overburden of household duties. To make such 
sacrifices unnecessary is the aim of modern inven- 
tion and today we find ourselves at the pinnacle of 
achievement in this direction. The universal adop- 
tion of available household conveniences today 
would save the lives of numberless overworked 
women. The problem presents no serious com- 
plexities. It is a simple one from beginning to 

48 



CONFERENCES NECESSARY. 



end, requiring only a reasonable amount of fore- 
thought and an expenditure commensurate with the 
advantages secured. 

The architect will serve his own interests best 
who secures the co-operation of his clients and 
sets about the planning of their new home with as 
full a knowledge of their desires as he may readily 
acquire. Two or three evening conferences upon 
the subject will not interfere with the day's busi- 
ness and may give him a new viewpoint on home 
construction. Intending builders usually have 
studied the subject well and have made scores of 
tentative plans which have been thrown away upon 
the dawning of some fresh idea, new, yet old or im- 
possible. The architect with definite ideas about 
what is best or desirable in a family dwelling, who 
is able to take the point of view of the housekeeper, 
is truly an ornament to his profession. His higher 
aspirations will be rewarded, for already he has the 
grasp of a master. No branch of architecture is so 
important as the correct planning of dwellings, yet 
each unit is so small and the fee relatively so little 
that architects generally are seeking the larger 
work and correspondingly larger returns to be 
found in public buildings and great business blocks. 
It is this condition, the indifference of architects, 
that compels so many home builders to adopt pub- 
lished plans which are placed in the hands of 



49 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



builders who have no deep conviction of what should 
or should not be and who modify the plans to suit 
their convenience or to reduce the cost. When they 
are through with the work the most that can be 
said of the house is that it is a shelter containing 
ten rooms. A little neglect or false economy, for 
example, the sparing use of building paper, or 
the careless fitting of windows and doors may make 
the house a very poor shelter in winter. A saving 
of five dollars in building paper will cost ten dollars 
in coal the first winter, with a considerable amount 
of discomfort added. 

Before making a plan for a new home it were well 
to answer analytically the question : ''What is the 
house for?" To eat in, sleep in, receive our friends 
in and to entertain them in ; to rest in — and, in 
short, to live in. To the mother of the family it 
is the place in which to work. It is the source of 
inspiration, the place of rejuvenation for the hus- 
band and father, and the place for the children to 
grow up in. Therefore the home should be as at- 
tractive as it may be made, and to make it so 
the mother should not become a drudge. The sav- 
ing of labor is the vital point in the arrangement of 
the house, which may be likened to a factory in its 
systematic organization. 

In modern manufacture system is the keynote. 
In the home as in the factory are routine processes 



50 



REDUCE HOME LABOR. 



which, for economy's sake, the economy of effort if 
not of money, should be done with system. In the 
factory the raw material is received at a certain 
point and passes from machine to machine and 
from workman to workman until it emerges in 
the form of a finished product, boxed or barreled 
and ready for shipment. At certain points in the 
process the by-products are taken away. The ma- 
terial passes through the factory with as little re- 
handling as possible and without taking a back- 
ward course at any point if it can be avoided. 
The aim of the whole system is to produce goods 
at the lowest consistent cost. Hand labor is one 
of the most expensive elements in the cost of goods 
in most manufactories. To reduce hand labor to 
the minimum, high salaried experts are employed to 
study and perfect the factory systems. It is just 
as vital in the home to reduce the labor of the 
domestic routine and it is a study worthy of the 
best architects upon whose advice homes are built 
and their equipment installed. 

Present day practice is to use every part of the 
house, a custom following the heating of the en- 
tire dwelling. There is no longer the stiff and un- 
used parlor with its treasure of heirlooms. Its 
doors are wide open and it stands ready for use 
without ceremony. The rambling structures built 
by former generations are succeeded by houses of 



51 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



closer design. The compactly arranged house 
we are told, is the result of a desire for economy 
in heating. It is also an important step in the 
economy of labor in its care. Every argument for 
economy favors the compact dwelling, free from 
long halls and long rooms, long stairways or high 
ceilings. In a compact house the related parts 
may be brought closely together convenient for 
the purposes intended, resulting in the saving of 
many steps and much strength, without any sacri- 
fice of beauty. Manifestly the square built house 
may possess four facades, each attractive in its 
design and each conveying some hint of the con- 
venient arrangement and beauty within. 

In planning a new home one of the first thoughts 
concerns the veranda or porch. In the South it is 
called a gallery. In New England it is still the 
piazza, the development of the stoop and the por- 
tico. The veranda in its modern use possesses 
such attractive possibilities in the way of social 
pleasures that no house should be without one. It 
is the outdoor room of the house, always inviting, 
with its hammock or swinging settee and easy 
chairs, its table of current magazines and decora- 
tions of growing plants along the balustrade. A 
good location for the veranda is at the corner of the 
house, where it serves the purpose of a portico and 
a summer room and avoids shading all the front 



52 



USES OF VERANDAS. 



windows. The narrow, shelf-like piazza, conspicu- 
ous on rural dwellings and old houses everywhere, 
is a poor apology for the wide, room-like creation 
of later architecture. If situated at the corner of 
the house it is certain to have a better circulation of 
air, and air is what is wanted during the summer or 
veranda season. The veranda should conform to 
the general architecture of the house and may be 
made a thing of beauty in harmony with the house. 
Many new verandas on old houses violate all rules 
of good taste and architectural harmony. Op- 
posing schools of architecture give daily battle to 
each other, while the helpless public looks on in 
amazement. 

In some elaborate houses the veranda takes the 
form of a loggia within the wall lines of the house. 
A row of heavy pillars or piers, or perhaps an ar- 
cade, supports the walls. The effect is classical and 
dignified in the extreme. The loggia is necessarily 
enclosed on three sides but nevertheless serves the 
purpose of an outdoor room, useful for the enter- 
tainment of friends or an agreeable place for the 
family to meet in an evening chat. Second floor 
verandas are much in demand by those who like to 
sleep in the open air during summer months. 
Verandas when used thus are screened against 
flies and mosquitoes. 



53 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The careful architect devotes much attention to 
the front entrance of the house. No feature of the 
street elevation is more conspicuous. The eye of 
the passer-by is directed to it as naturally as the 
eye of a listener is directed to the lips of one who 
is speaking. It is one of the features of expres- 
sion upon the face of the dwelling. The archi- 
tectural ideal in a front entrance might demand 
double doors but convenience and economy favor 
a single valve of extra width, having upper panels 
of beveled clear glass in plain or fancy shapes. 
This door should open into a vestibule which 
should be different from vestibules as commonly 
known. It is here that the housework begins. The 
veranda is not a part of the house that can be neg- 
lected but it offers its compensation in preventing 
much dirt from entering the house. The mat be- 
fore the front door and the rug in the vestibule 
should still reduce the amount of litter brought in 
with hastening feet. To be over nice or finical 
about the question of dirt robs the home of its ease 
and relaxation, but there is a happy betweenity in 
which all members of the household may join, to 
the increased comfort of all. Such checks upon 
invading litter at the entrances are inexpensive and 
help to keep down the work within doors. 

The vestibule may be 35^ or 4 feet by 6 or 8, so as 
to have a recess at the left or right. In this re- 



54 



HALL AND VESTIBULE. 



cess, which may be curtained from the place of en- 
try, are to be the hall rack or hooks around the 
walls, an umbrella stand and mirror. It is here 
that one may divest himself of extra wraps and 
hat, put aside his umbrella and overshoes and take 
a glance at himself to see that the clothing is in 
order. A vestibule thus arranged relieves the hall 
and renders it more suitable for use as a room. 

The hall should be of such shape as to make it 
an attractive feature. As a mere passageway or 
corridor it is robbed of the charm that it might 
otherwise possess. If given the shape of a room, 
with mantel and grate in one comer it becomes 
a beautiful and useful part of the house. A stair- 
way is prettiest and easiest to ascend when made 
with a landing half way up. No part of a stair- 
way that is much used should have a spiral turn. 
Such construction is continually the cause of ac- 
cidents. The stairs should lead toward the center 
of the house. If the hall is on the west side of the 
dwelling the stairs may go up on the west wall to 
a landing, then turn at a right angle toward the cen- 
ter. An ornate window at the landing with leaded 
cathedral glass, not too dark, adds to the beauty 
of the hall. 

The reception room is placed by general prefer- 
ence nearest the vestibule, or the hall itself may be 
so furnished and arranged as to meet such require- 



55 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



ments. When so used the hall should have one or 
more windows upon the level of other windows 
of that floor to give it the effect of a reception 
room. 

The smallness or amplitude of the parlor depend 
upon the habits of the family for whom it is de- 
signed. If there is to be much entertainment, with 
dancing, a large parlor is wanted, that is to say, 
large in proportion to the other rooms. Where the 
rooms are so arranged that they may be thrown 
together by means of double sliding doors the 
necessity for a large parlor is removed. To have 
a large parlor unless the house be large, means a 
corresponding cramping in the sizes of other rooms. 
Convenience demands certain dimensions for the 
other rooms and it were unwise to cramp them. 
The arrangement of rooms with double doors be- 
tween removes the necessity for small rooms and 
on occasion provides space for an afternoon or 
evening party. 

The living room should be ample in its dimen- 
sions and should be at the front of the house, with the 
best available outlook. This is the gathering place 
of the family and it should be the best in its ap- 
pointments for comfort and cheerfulness that the 
house affords.- In addition to other heating equip- 
ment it should have an open fireplace on account of 
its ventilating value and the cheer that an open fire 



56 



LIBRARY AND DEN. 



of wood, coke or hard coal can give. A substantial 
wire-cloth screen should at all times be a part of the 
fireplace equipment. 

The term library is often only another name for 
the living room, containing a few movable shelves 
or cases on which are the family books. It be- 
comes the family reading place and to a consider- 
able extent the family sewing room. But if the 
library is to be a place of study and retirement for 
quiet reading it should be so situated as not to be 
used as a passageway to other rooms. The ideal 
library for study and writing should have but one 
door, opening from the hall, so that no one may 
have occasion to enter it except for the purposes 
for which it is intended. 

The den, as its name indicates, is a little room. 
The head of the house may use it for his home busi- 
ness office. It may contain his desk and one or 
more easy chairs, a table for newspapers, his smok- 
ing materials, his easy jacket for house wear, his 
slippers and canes. The name suggests a place of 
retirement and relaxation. It may contain a couch 
overladen with pillows with which one may 
bolster himself into all sorts of easy attitudes for 
reading or smoking or for a visit with a congenial 
companion. The den may open off the hall on the 
first or second floor or off the living room or din- 
ing room, as convenience in the construction of 



57 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



the house may place it. It is a room utterly with- 
out dignity, a place for a romp with the children, 
where formalities are forgotten and quite an im- 
portant adjunct to the home whose occupants do 
not lead a stilted existence. 

The dining room is the housekeeper's especial 
pride. Convenience requires that this room be not 
less than 13 feet wide and 15 to 20 feet long. These 
dimensions provide space for a sideboard and serv- 
ing table, a china cabinet and extra chairs. An 
open grate gives forth a cheerful flicker on a frosty 
morning but if possible should be at the corner of 
the room where it will not make it necessary for 
persons at the table to toast their backs during the 
meal. The grate should not be depended upon as 
the sole heating apparatus, except as it may be used 
to take off the chill upon cool mornings, because it 
does not heat the room uniformly. It should be 
considered, as in other parts of the house, merely 
as an adjimct to the other heating equipment. It is 
desirable that the dining room be somewhat iso- 
lated from other parts of the house. Its front en- 
trance should be in the rear part of the hall and it 
is preferable that it should not be connected with 
the living room with double sliding doors. The 
swing door, shutting tightly against the jamb and 
strip, is a more effectual barrier against noise and 
odors than sliding doors. In the placing of its fur- 



58 



DINING ROOM AND KITCHEN. 



niture the room should be so arranged with refer- 
ence to its principal entrance as to give a pretty 
vista when seen through the open door. The places 
for the sideboard and serving table are near the 
door leading to the kitchen. This arrangement 
gives increased facility to the serving of the meal. 
Sometimes the sideboard may be placed between 
the windows at the end of the room with a high, 
ornamental window of colored glass above it. The 
sideboard is variously used, sometimes for the dis- 
play of choice and dainty ware, sometimes as a 
buffet and as the carving or serving table. These 
things are minutiae for the housekeeper to deter- 
mine. 

The isolation of the kitchen should be as com- 
plete as possible. Two doors should separate it 
from the dining room, the passageway leading 
through the butler's pantry. No shelves, tables or 
other furniture should front upon this passage, 
which should be kept free of obstructions. The 
china closet may be placed in this apartment, but 
should occupy an alcove opening into the passage, 
while that part of it used for the temporary plac- 
ing of food before going to the table should con- 
stitute another alcove where one or more persons 
may stand without obstructing the passage. These 
alcoves may be closed with light sliding doors when 
not in use. The doors from the dining room to 



59 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 

the passageway and thence to the kitchen should 
be of light construction so hinged as to swing in 
either direction. A pane of thick glass at the 
proper height in each door will prevent collisions. 

The kitchen is the principal center of household 
activity. It is a workshop in its strictest sense. 
Formerly the kitchen was also dining room and 
sitting room. Now it is all kitchen and should be 
arranged like other well arranged work-shops, with 
full regard for the tasks carried on therein. What 
the kitchen equipment should be, according to the 
modern view is stated in detail in Chapter XIV, 
which treats of that important department of the 
home. 

The cellar has so many uses that the following 
chapter (V) will treat of that part of the house. 
The laundry work, still done in many kitchens, 
should, even in low-priced houses, be relegated to 
the basement, where additional windows and ven- 
tilation, if necessary for additional light and air, 
should be provided. The alterations need not be 
expensive, but the kitchen is hardly the place for 
laundering the soiled clothing and linen of the 
house, and the basement affords a better place for 
such work. Here, too, the fruit and vegetable 
cellars are properly situated, all partitioned and 
allotted a definite place in home economy. 

60 



SLEEPING ROOMS. 



Convenience and the demand for good ventilation 
and good air have placed the sleeping rooms in 
nearly all modern isolated dwellings on the second 
and third floors. The rooms of the upper floors are 
certain to be dryer than those below, windows may 
be thrown open with a feeling of security against 
intruders and the circulation of the outside air is 
better among buildings at a height of a few feet 
from the ground than at the level of the lower floor. 
Fresh air and sunshine are such effective destroyers 
of bacteria whose presence is inimical to the fam- 
ily health, that plenty of both are to be sought 
always. If one may have a second floor veranda 
at the back part of the house where bed clothing 
and mattresses may be taken for an airing it will 
be prized beyond measure and used to an extent 
unthought of by one who has not had such a con- 
venience. 

■ The nursery should be a sunny room at the cor- 
ner of the house, if possible, with an outlook where 
the little ones may have a broad view of what is 
going on outside. Such a view is educative and 
sunshine and good air conduce to good health. The 
nursery need not be an apartment specially con- 
structed for the purpose but its decoration and fur- 
nishing will be most happily done if carried out 
with the idea that the place is for the children. 
Its location should be next to the sleeping room or 



6i 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



rooms of those having the care of the children, so 
that they may not lack attention to their needs 
both day and night. 

It is desirable to have five bedrooms on the sec- 
ond floor, for families of moderate size, one to be 
allotted to the housemaid. Her room should be a 
convenient and attractive one if the best results are 
to be expected. In a well-planned house there is 
little waste of space in halls on the second floor. 
The front staircase should lead to the attic floor 
and the back stairs should connect with the rear 
of the upper hall. Two doors, one at the bot- 
tom and the other at or near the top of the rear 
stairs, should separate the kitchen from the upper 
hall. 

The bathroom, which is treated in Chapter XV, 
seems to find its proper place in most modern dwell- 
ings at the back of the house on the second floor. 
The lessening of cost in bathroom equipment and 
the greater appreciation of the luxury of the bath 
room and its sundry appliances has led to the intro- 
duction of an extra one or more bath rooms even 
in dwellings of moderate cost. The thoughtful 
architect will not fail to suggest this additional lux- 
ury to his clients and arrange for it in his plans. 
The convenience of stationary lavatories in the 
several chambers is not to be overlooked. Thev add 



62 



THE GARRET. 



to the luxury of the home and save their cost in 
labor. 

The garret, if left in the rough, is a place where 
rubbish gathers in alarming quantity and dust ac- 
cumulates to an appalling depth. The housewife 
is ever ashamed of it and is denied one of the things 
much to be desired in a house, a neat, clean store- 
room. One will never have a regret in having the 
garret floor 'Mone off" with plastered walls into 
rooms of convenient size, accessible by easy stairs. 
If the family is of large size some of these apart- 
ments will be found useful as sleeping rooms for 
older members of the family. The possibilities for 
usefulness in the garret rooms are too important 
to be overlooked or neglected. 



63 



Chapter V. 



THE CELLAR. 

The walls. Damp-prooHng. Cellar floors. Un- 
derneath the floor. Soil drainage. House 
drains. Self -cleansing drains. Soil pipe, and 
connections to the sewer. Cellar Drainage. 
Back zvater gates. Automatic cellar and ash pit 
drainers. Floor Drains. Fuel storage and con- 
veniences. Vegetable rooms. Wine closets. 
Tool room. Light in the cellar. Cellar venti- 
lation. 

npHE cellar is too often a place of mysteries. It 
is the abiding place of the gas meter. Here is 
ihe furnace like a huge spider clinging with great 
tin legs to the ceiling. Here is the mass 
of pipes for many purposes, upon the proper 
arrangement of which depends so much af- 
fecting the health, comfort, convenience and gen- 
eral well-being of the family. 

The proper construction and arrangement of the 
cellar begins with laying off the ground for the 
excavation. Necessity rather than choice may have 
decided the location of the lot. If situated upon 
low ground the question of drainage must have im- 

64 



EXCAVATION FOR CELLAR. 



mediate consideration. If the lot is a narrow one 
fronting north or south the house should, prefer- 
ably, occupy the west side of the lot, not closer than 
1 8 inches to the west line. This leaves the wider 
space on the east side so that the pleasure of the 
afternoon shade may be secured in summer. The 
placing of the veranda has other considerations, 
however, particularly that of taking advantage of 
the prevailing wind in summer. If shade is needed 
it may be secured by means of an awning. A breezy 
veranda is more likely to be immune from mos- 
quitoes in the evening, as the little songsters fiy low 
where the wind blows, even if the wind be but a 
light one. The situation of neighboring houses 
will have a bearing upon the exact position of the 
house upon the lot. 

Having decided upon the wall lines the contractor 
begins his excavation. The contract should specify 
that the first twelve inches of top soil shall be put in 
a pile by itself so that it may be used as the top 
dressing of the lot when the grading is done. It 
sometimes becomes necessary to remove from the 
lot the soil taken from the excavation. This adds 
materially to the expense. Provision should be 
made early for bringing in the city water, gas and 
sewer connections, so that the trenches may be filled 
and allowed to settle, to be in readiness for finishing 
the grounds when the house is completed. 



65 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



Assuming that it is necessary to make the cellar 
as impervious to moisture as possible, provision 
must be made for a tile drain laid with open joints 
in a trench at least six inches outside and below the 
foot of the wall. Dampness is indeed a scourge to 
be feared. It may be necessary merely to dig a 
trench where the foundation wall is to be and fill 
it with broken stone. The drain, however, is de- 
sirable in any locality to take care of the storm 
waters. In times past pole drains have been used. 
These are made by laying a dozen poles lengthwise 
in the trench in place of the drain tiles. Such a 
drain is undesirable because the wood will decay 
and the drain eventually become useless. The box 
drain, made of four pieces of board nailed together 
so as to form a conduit is objected to for the same 
reason. All work in and around the foundation 
should be of an enduring character. Very good 
drains may be made of flat stones so placed in the 
trench as to form a triangular channel and then 
loosely covered with a layer of small stones, be- 
fore refilling the trench with earth. 

Other plans include a similar line of tile en- 
circling the cellar within the wall about two feet 
from it, and connecting with the outside drains 
to discharge through the same general outlet. It 
has been the practice to discharge these drains into 
a dry well, where possible, but in cities the prefer- 

66 



DAMPPROOFING WALLS. 



able plan is to lead them to a water tight catch 
basin made of brick or stone and lined with port- 
land cement, from which they discharge through 
a glazed tile conduit, securely trapped, to the house 
sewer and thence to the city sewer. Patented cast 
iron catch basins of various sizes and of an ap- 
proved type are now available. 

Portland cement is considered the most effective 
exterior coating for a cellar wall. Care must be 
taken to have the cement applied to every part and 
the foundation stones should lie in a bed of the 
same material. 

While Portland cement is, as stated, usually con- 
sidered the most effective exterior coating for 
damp-proofing a cellar wall, it must be pointed out 
that, as usually applied, a cement coating does not 
secure freedom from moisture. The firm, hard and 
nearly non-absorbent surfaces usually seen in ce- 
ment floors and sidewalks, unfortunately are not 
secured in coatings on foundation walls. This is 
partly due to the lack of care on the part of the 
workman as well as to the impossibility of putting 
as good a finish on vertical cement surfaces as may 
be put on flat surfaces. It is also exceedingly diffi- 
cult to cover the edges and corners of foundation 
walls with a cement coating. It is, however, per- 
fectly possible to damp-proof foundation w^alls and 
to lay a damp-proof course under cellar floors, by 



ej 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



using several alternating coats of tar and tarred 
paper. Native stone is generally favored for 
foundation walls, but is being superseded to a 
considerable extent by concrete mixtures some- 
times reinforced with coarse wire fence and steel 
or iron rods. Such reinforcement adds very ma- 
terially to the strength of a wall. A reinforced 
concrete wall, made with good cement 8 to lo 
inches thick, meets every requirement in a good 
foundation for an ordinary dwelling. Long 
stretches of such wall should be buttressed by cross 
walls or specially built buttresses or well braced by 
the sill timbers of the house to resist the pressure 
of the opposing bank. Brick walls are objected to 
for cellars except in very dry localities. The capil- 
larity of the brick continually drinks in the mois- 
ture from the surrounding earth and an impervious 
coating becomes an absolute necessity if the cellar 
is to be reasonably dry. Of native materials for 
cellar walls limestone is most favored. It is more 
nearly impervious than other materials. A skilled 
mason is careful to have no stone extend entirely 
through the wall in order that frost may be ex- 
cluded. 

In very wet ground the cellar bottom is spread 
with a 6-inch layer of broken stone upon which a 
concrete floor is laid, with a top dressing of port- 
land cement. In place of the concrete, brick is 

68 



DAMPPROOFING WALLS. 



sometimes laid in asphaltum with a portland cement 
surface applied to the brick. A brick floor in a 
cellar is far from satisfactory on account of its 
absorbent character. The ideal cellar floor is one 
that can be periodically washed or flushed with the 
hose, and one that will dry quickly after such 
flushing. 

It is useless to attempt to exclude dampness from 
the cellar by beginning at the inside. Any coating 
of lath and plaster, hollow brick and tile or other 
devices on the walls merely covers up the evil. The 
dampness comes through and will continue to do so. 
The precaution mentioned in Chapter II against al- 
lowing rubbish to fall between the bank and the 
cellar wall should be heeded. Such rubbish will 
provide, for years, large cavities into which storm 
waters and water from melting snow will find easy 
access, keeping the walls continually wet. 

Other devices in damp proofing, some of them 
of ancient origin, have the merit of effectiveness 
if not of cheapness. These consist of various forms 
of dwarf walls and open and covered areas around 
the outside of the foundation walls. These covered 
areas need to be ventilated and so carefully con- 
structed as to exclude the small animals that every- 
where take advantage of accessible spaces around 
dwellings. One form of old Roman damp proofing 
consisted of a tile with rectangular sides, one side 



69 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



open. These were assembled on the outside of the 
wall, the open side to the wall. The entire exterior 
of the wall, thus covered, was surrounded with in- 
numerable air spaces. This covering, while stopping 
tlie capillary flow of water to the walls, would be 
ineffective with flood waters. 

An approved method of treating old damp walls 
is to make an excavation four feet wide around the 
exterior, the bottom of the trench to slope laterally 
at an angle of 20 degrees from a point near the 
surface of the ground at the wall to the outside 
of the trench. Upon this sloping bottom is placed 
a layer of brick rendered impervious by the use of 
asphaltum between the joints and a coating on the 
upper surface. The trench is then refilled. Con- 
crete with a smooth coat of cement may be used 
instead. The effect is that of a shed roof under 
ground around the walls, throwing the water well 
away from them. A cement walk 4 or 5 feet wide 
around the building, sealed to the walls, would in a 
measure prevent the flow of water to the walls. 
The natural course of free water is directly down- 
ward, while capillarity takes it in all directions. In 
brick foundation v/alls a layer of slate or other im- 
pervious material is inserted just above the grade 
line. Sheet lead of suitable weight is sometimes 
used for this purpose, cut to the exact width of 
the wall. The successive sheets should be effectively 



70 



DAMPNESS DESTRUCTIVE. 



jointed. Water in its capillary movement is never 
in haste, but ascends to astonishing heights. Evap- 
oration only prevents it from showing far up on 
unprotected brick walls whose foundations stand in 
wet or moist ground. The chemical action of water, 
its disintegrating influence and the action of frost, 
are all to be considered in the materials and con- 
struction of foundations. 

While dampness is destructive to "many things 
usually left in the cellar, causing mold, rust and 
decay, its principal offense is against the com- 
fort and well-being of the family. The only 
safe and agreeable cellar is a bright, dry, well 
ventilated one, into which any meuibers of the 
family may go with safety and which will not be 
continually distributing musty odors and deleterious 
miasma to the upper part of the house through the 
many crevices that are certain to exist in dwell- 
ings as usually built. A case in point is that of a 
wealthy resident of Chicago whose mansion was 
supposed to contain everything that could be de- 
sired in the matter of safe sanitation. So poorly 
is his cellar drained, however, that the flues of his 
ventilating system have been continually wet and 
the evil is now being remedied at large expense. 
The foresight of the architect, one of the best, 
failed to provide against damp cellar air. 



71 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



Before the cellar floor goes into place the en- 
tire system of house drainage should be planned 
and the construction of the cellar bottom carried out 
accordingly. Good practice now makes it unneces- 
sary to put anything under the cement bottom ex- 
cept the open-jointed tile drains for the subsoil 
drainage only. All the horizontal house drains and 
connections thereto are laid in conduits left in the 
cement floor. These conduits are afterward covered 
with cast iron plates laid flush with the surface 
of the cement bottom, and made continuous with it. 
This plan leaves everything accessible for inspec- 
tion and repair and insures the dwelling against 
lapsing into an unsanitary condition. All drains 
inside the house should be of cast iron, to agree 
with the best modern practice. The fragile char- 
acter of the glazed pipes renders them dangerous 
for inside use. An unobserved crack may discharge 
poisonous gases for years before discovery. When 
necessary to exclude seepage water the conduits 
for house drains should be sealed against it by the 
use of cement. 

It is sometimes necessary to carry the house 
drain on brackets or a ledge of the cellar wall. In 
all cases the alignment should be perfect, the pipes 
of iron and the support secure. Pipes coated 
with asphalt, coal tar or any other preparation 
should not be accepted and the specifications should 



72 



THE MAIN DRAIN. 



strictly guard against them. None but pipes free 
from artificial covering should be accepted. Such 
preparations, under the plea that they are to pre- 
vent rust, are too liable to be merely for the pur- 
pose of hiding sand holes, blow holes and other 
defects. If free from such covering they may be 
successfully inspected. Iron drain pipes require no 
covering. In a dry cellar they will not rust at all 
and in the ground the progress of rust is so ex- 
ceedingly slow that the matter of repairs will fall 
to succeeding generations. In passing drain pipes 
under heavy walls it is the practice to bridge them 
with masonry, or to cushion them above with a 
packing of asphalt well rammed or other suitable 
impervious material. The strain due to the settling 
of the wall is thus relieved and the liability of frac- 
ture of the pipes removed. 

The vertical stack should have a solid founda- 
tion. The wxight of 30 to 40 feet of 4 to 6-inch 
pipe standing on end is considerable and the stack 
at its junction with the horizontal line should rest 
upon a bed of cement or stone of sufficient size to 
sustain the weight without settling. While allow- 
ance is made in the fixture connections for slight 
changes due to contraction and settling, practice 
approaches now more nearly than ever to exact and 
rigid construction. 



7Z 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



Scientific house drainage aims toward supply- 
ing self-cleansing devices. It endeavors to do 
away with any contrivance which contains cavities 
into which sewage may collect and remain indefi- 
nitely. The purpose is to take advantage of the 
scouring action of running water to keep the drains 
clear of deleterious substances. An evidence of 
this is a freer use of water in the various sewer 
sanitary fixtures, the devising of appliances to flush 
the drains at intervals, and the provision for clean- 
outs so that every part of the drainage system is ac- 
cessible. A type of flushing apparatus is that which 
has a connection with the house water supply «vhich 
may be turned directly into the soil pipes or 
branches, either vertical or horizontal, giving them 
thorough rinsing at each trap. 

An ample provision needs to be made in the cel- 
lar for drainage from the surface of the floor. 
Area and cellar drain traps are now made with an 
effective back-water gate or valve that removes 
the old objection to open drains whose water seal 
is liable to be broken through an insufficiency of 
water. The grade of the floor should be such as 
to lead to the drains so that when washing the 
floor the water will run off quickly. In a small 
cellar one such drain may be sufficient. The laun- 
dry may require a separate drain, for convenience 
and cleanliness. Another type of cellar drain is 



74 



CELLAR DRAINERS. 



made to be kept closed with a screw cap except 
when in actual use. 

Frequently it happens that it is necessary to 
place the furnace in a pit where water may gather, 
from seepage or otherwise, and unless disposed of 
cause much annoyance. Invention has provided 
also against this condition, in the automatic ash-pit 
or cellar drainers. These may be placed at the 
bottom of a small sump or shallow well. A type 
of these has a float which, when the v/ater rises 
in the sump, opens a valve admitting a jet of 
steam, compressed air or water from the city mains, 
which, by syphonage, drains the pit and then closes 
until again called into action. These are equally 
serviceable when the sewer level is too low for 
draining the cellar by gravity. 

When the street sewer is too small for the service 
required of it, or the locality is so low that the 
danger of water backing up from the sewer exists, 
a back-water gate or valve is the safeguard against 
flooding the cellar or fixtures with foul water. Back 
water pressure is quite certain to find vent if it 
once gets past the foundation walls of the house, 
and much depends on the gate. These gates are 
made of non-corroding metal, securely installed 
in the drain, with a lid or flap which allows the out- 
flowing water to pass but permits none to return. 
The seat of the valve needs to be accurately ground 



75 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



so that with a long continued back pressure it may 
not allow enough sewage to pass to cause trouble. 
Late practice is to a considerable extent discard- 
ing the trap in the main house sewer connection. 
We must ever regard the street sewer a public men- 
ace. Its thorough ventilation is always a problem. 
The perforated manholes in the street are the only 
vents to many of the sewers and it is to provide a 
more thorough sewer ventilation that the traps are 
being discarded. If all the traps could be dis- 
carded at one time the result would be a complete 
ventilation of the public sewers and any gases or 
odors therefrom would be so diluted with fresh air 
as to be rendered harmless and practically inof- 
fensive. As the matter stands many are reluctant 
to lead off in the reform, fearing a harmful result 
to themselves. Practical experience seems, how- 
ever, to argue for the omission of a trap on the 
main house sewer, leaving an open duct from the 
city sewer through the drain and stack to the top 
of the house. The warm air of the drain will nat- 
urally create a continuous current from sewer to 
housetop. If all fixtures and connections are se- 
curely trapped immunity from sewer gas would be 
secured even if the air were inclined to take other 
than its natural course and attempt to escape 
through the fixture traps. The warm current of air 
through the stack would tend to prevent any ac- 



76 



WATER SUPPLY SHUTOFFS. 



cumulation of snow and ice at the opening above 
the roof and the removal of the trap would give the 
sewage a clear course to the place of discharge. It 
is argued that a ventilated main drain, even if ven- 
tilated with the air of the main sewer, is better than 
a drain kept foul by its own contents. The move- 
ment may at least be said to be in the direction of 
better sanitation. 

Where the main drain trap is used it is placed 
inside the cellar wall with a vent beneath the sill 
to the outer air. This location places it within easy 
access where the cap of the trap may be removed in 
the event of any stoppage. 

In the cellar also is the water connection with 
the city or public system of supply with a shut- 
off, or stop and waste cock. The stop and waste 
cock may not be used for years. For this reason it 
should be of a style that will not stick when finally 
an attempt is made to turn it. In some instances 
the cock is placed in a box below the level of the 
cellar bottom to be turned with a key. Sometimes 
when so turned, with great difficulty, the check is 
broken. Thereafter it will be difficult to tell 
whether the water is turned entirely on or off. 
Later and better practice is to have the stop and 
waste cock, of a non-sticking type, placed above 
the floor in plain sight, with handle attached or made 
to turn with a wrench. The requirement of special 



11 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



tools should be avoided in this as in other things. 
Such tools too often are missing when most needed. 

The basement water closet often is placed in such 
a dark and poorly ventilated corner that it be- 
comes a nuisance. Inferior fixtures often are used 
and the penalty is paid sooner or later. Then be- 
gins a succession of bills for repairs and an accumu- 
lation of patchwork in the despised corner that 
makes it more despicable. Experience teaches 
that the basement closet should be of the best sani- 
tary type, of good quality with fixtures that will 
bear as much neglect as those of any other part of 
the house. No lead pipe carrying waste should be 
used in cellars, within the reach of rats, an admo- 
nition scarcely necessary to any plumber who has 
had to deal with such pipes where rats have gnawed 
through them. 

The laundry and the heating and ventilating of 
the house will be treated in succeeding chapters. 

The plans for the storage of fuel too often are 
left to the discretion of the contractor. If con- 
venient he sends one of his cheapest hands to the 
vicinity of the furnace to hammer together an 
assortment of rough boards for coal bins. The ideal 
bin for the furnace coal should have capacity for 
12 tons, for a ten-room house, so that the entire 
winter supply may be put in at one time. The 
chute should be located with reference to the street 



78 



COAL STORAGE. 



or driveway so that it may be as convenient as 
possible. The chute, lined with iron and built into 
the house, if it may be done without sacrificing 
more valuable room above, should deliver the coal 
as near the center of the bin as may be. Much 
labor will be avoided by such construction. If 
necessary to use the same chute for other sizes of 
coal it may be pivoted or partitioned so as to carry 
the coal to the adjoining bin. Usually a cellar win- 
dow at the side of the coal bin is used for a coal 
chute, but the idea of a convenient house is not 
carried out by that practice. The window is 
broken frequently and generally is opaque with a 
coating of coal dust. The coal room should be 
shut away from the other parts of the cellar by a 
dust proof wall or partition and the ceiling over it 
should also be made dust proof. Very frequently 
the fresh air supply for the furnace passes through 
the coal room or near the coal bin. The processes of 
shoveling in the coal and taking out the ashes 
raises little or much dust every day, which escapes 
into the cold air conduit and goes thence all 
through the house. It also settles upon everything 
in the cellar. Here is one of the places where the 
thoughtful architect can help the housekeeper to 
keep the house clean. 

The cement flooring of the cellar should extend 
throughout that apartment, including the coal room. 



79 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The opening to the bin for the furnace coal should 
be conveniently at the right or left of the furnace 
door. While it is desirable to have the floor of the 
bin hopper-shaped, sloping to the opening, so that 
the coal by gravity will come to the opening con- 
tinually, such extra flooring will decrease consid- 
erably the capacity of the bin. Besides the bins 
for two sizes of coal there should be, in the fuel 
room, space for a supply of hard wood for grate 
fires. If coal be used in the kitchen range and 
laundry there will be much rekindling of fires and 
provision needs to be made for the storage of 
kindling, which may be placed in a third bin ad- 
jacent to the bins for coal. Convenience will sug- 
gest that the out-door entrance to the cellar shall be 
directly to the fuel room or to a passage connect- 
ing directly with it. This will simplify the removal 
of ashes. 

A tool room is a convenience usually overlooked 
in the planning of the basement. A considerable 
number of tools is required around even the small- 
est dwelling. A room set apart for these will prove 
itself worthy of the effort to provide it. Here may 
be the hoe, shovel and rake, the hose reel and hose 
fixtures, the wheelbarrow, a shelf for paints, a 
solid work-bench with daylight from the left and 
gas light similarly placed. Hammers, saws, nails 
and other tools and supplies are indispensable about 

80 



LIGHTING THE CELLAR. 



the house and have their proper place in the base- 
ment tool room. This room should be, for con- 
venience, near the outside entrance. 

The vegetable room, the fruit and wine rooms 
should be separate apartments with substantial 
doors, the latter rooms provided with locks to pre- 
vent a too free use of their contents. The shelves 
need to be carefully and substantially made. Ven- 
tilation should be sufficient to keep them fresh and 
sweet, but they may be placed in any dark, cool 
parts of the cellar. That they shall be cool is espe- 
cially important. 

Light and ventilation are so frequently neglected 
in the cellar that special emphasis seems necessary 
in respect of these provisions. Windows should 
be provided in sufficient numibers to light every 
corner in order that all parts may be made useful. 
Vines should not be permitted to obscure the light. 
Gas jets should also be placed so that any part may 
be lighted artificially when necessity or convenience 
requires. All basement gas jets should be securely 
screened by wire cages and the ceiling above them 
protected by mica canopies to prevent fire. The 
ventilation should be sufficient to carry off all odors 
from any cause and to keep the atmosphere fresh 
and agreeable. The stairs to the cellar both from 
outside and from the interior of the house should 
be substantial and of easy ascent. Outside cellar 



8i 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



stairs in open areas should be avoided. Rather, 
have the entrance at grade with platform inside 
and with stairr. from the platform to the kitchen and 
to the cellar. Such an arrangement possesses ad- 
vantages sufficiently apparent to need no advocacy. 



82 



Chapter VI. 



THE LAUNDRY. 

The floor. Laundry trays. Laundry tray connec- 
tions. Laundry heaters. Laundry dryers. Laun- 
dry machinery suited to the home. Hot water 
supply. Laundry conveniences. 

A COMPLETE laundry in the home is a con- 
venience best appreciated by those, who 
have it. Invention has done so much to simpHfy 
laundry work at home and to reduce the labor of 
handling the family washing that the subject takes 
on a scientific interest. The architect, the plumb- 
ing contractor and laundry supply man all unite in 
guiding the housekeeper to a correct solution of 
anything difficult that may appear in the question. 
The laundry, in most modern dwellings, is situ- 
ated in the basement. It is here that more space, 
not required for other purposes, seems available 
than in any other part of the house. Besides, the 
basement appears generally to be regarded as an 
appropriate place for a kind of work in which so 
much water is used, a considerable part of which 
falls upon the floor. 

83 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The ideal laundry should be upon the first floor. 
Here it is more convenient, there is more air and 
sunshine, and all the conditions are more agree- 
able for carrying on the work of washing, drying 
and ironing the family clothes and linen. Labor is 
considerably lessened by having the laundry on 
the ground floor, and the chief consideration in 
the making of an ideal house is to reduce labor to 
the minimum. 

The laundry floor should be made of material 
that is impervious to water, so that it may be 
mopped and rinsed when the laundry work is 
done and will dry quickly. It should have a floor 
drain with trap connection to the sewer. One 
with a screw cap that shall be open only when in 
use is a good type for this purpose. Another has 
a back water gate or valve and seal, which makes 
an effectual protection against the loss of the seal 
by evaporation. Floors are made of cement, tile 
and natural stone. An interlocking rubber tile is 
also made for this purpose. The use of tile in 
colors peimits a decorative effect which adds to 
the cheerfulness of the laundry. Both the cement 
and tile have the desired sanitary quality when 
they offer no cracks or interstices in which the 
foul water may gather, but floor tiling is apt to have 
numerous joints filled with absorbent material, and 
these joints are unsanitary. The investigating house 

84 



THE LAUNDRY FLOOR. 



keeper is no doubt often astounded at the filth 
which an innocent looking cranny may reveal. A 
little check in an otherwise clean drain-board at a 
kitchen sink has been seen to reveal a colony of 
maggots when scraped out for the purpose of re- 
pairing the defect. 

A wood floor in a laundry is not to be tolerated 
if reasonable cleanliness is to be secured. A 
perfect joint between floor and walls, which like- 
wise should be non-absorbent, should be insisted 
upon, that no dampness may hide in such corners 
and furnish a breeding place for water bugs. Do 
we not owe much to such visible evidences of filth 
as the little brown and black bugs that infest the 
plumbing? For in excluding them by means of 
sanitary plumbing and tight joints we exclude the 
noxious gases and the disease breeding dampness 
that are not such visible quantities, but no less 
active, while a good deal more deadly. 

The doors of the laundry should be of a close fit- 
ting character, particularly those connecting with 
other parts of the house. The odor of steaming 
soapsuds is of such a penetrating character that 
the operation of the laundry may be too much in 
evidence in the reception room. One precaution to 
be suggested in this connection is that the upper 
end of the clothes chute should not terminate in 
the upper front hall, but rather should go through 



85 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



the upper back hall to the garret floor and have 
tightly closing doors at all openings. The chutes 
should be smooth inside. Lost garments have 
sometimes been found after a few weeks hanging 
to a projection, left by a careless carpenter. Stout 
trap doors fitted into the chute at each floor open- 
ing or very narrow openings are a protection against 
danger to climbing children. A chute is a con- 
venience prized by every housekeeper and should 
not be omitted in the plans. 

The ideal sanitary fixture, in the laundry as 
elsewhere, is the one which after use is left in a 
perfect sanitary condition for the next usage. It 
may be said that no fixture is absolutely sanitary, 
showing that still we have something to achieve in 
our construction of sanitary fixtures and appli- 
ances. The bubbling drinking fountain at which 
the drinker stoops and drinks from the top of the 
spouting column of water is ideally sanitary. The 
syphon jet water closet leaves no exposed sur- 
faces without a fresh cleansing with clear water 
and may be said to be nearly or quite ideally per- 
fect in this regard. 

A laundry tray, to meet sanitary requirements, 
must be of a non-absorbent material that may be 
cleaned easily after use. It should have no sharp 
edges and preferably should have no square cor- 
ners inside. Soapstone, slate and some other natural 

86 



THE BEST TRAYS. 



stones are nearly or quite non-absorbent and readily 
take a polish that has made their use quite general 
for the manufacture of laundry trays. They are 
both cheap and durable when properly cemented 
together. Several manufacturers have on the mar- 
ket trays made of cement, molded v^ith rounded 
corners inside and rounded edges wherever the 
worker comes in contact with them. The cement 
is non-absorbent, smooth and an excellent substi- 
tute for the more expensive trays. Tubs with 
v/ooden rims are not desirable. 

The great progress made in the manufacture of 
cast iron enameled tubs, both for the bath room 
and laundry, and in fact everywhere that china 
and marble and the cheaper materials have been 
used, has been revolutionary in the laundry. The 
porcelain lined cast iron tub is no longer an im- 
possible proposition on account of expense. The 
all earthenware tub for the laundry is necessarily 
very heavy and expensive, but its beauty and per- 
fection do not admit of criticism. The advantages 
of the earthenware tub are many. It shares with 
the enameled tray the quality of whiteness. The 
white tub reflects the light upon the work, allow- 
ing a better inspection of it by the laundress. Its 
perfect smoothness admits of no injury to the 
worker's hands or to the materials in the tub, 
which might suffer in a less perfect tray that is 



87 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



liable to roughness from the action of water or 
chipping or pitting from any cause. 

Any material which may become rough through 
the action of water or from wear is unsuited for 
laundry trays. Wood should not be considered as 
material for stationary trays. The old-fashioned 
wooden washtub is a portable affair and may be 
set in the sun to drain and dry. But the stationary 
laundry tray usually is situated where the sunshine 
never reaches it. The hot water soon saturates it 
and it remains permanently damp. After a few 
months' use it ceases to be the clean and sweet 
receptacle that a laundry tray should be to re- 
ceive our table linen and wearing apparel. Its use 
is contrary to good ideas of sanitation and cleanli- 
ness. The presence of water-soaked wooden trays 
in the laundry cannot add to the sweetness of the 
atmosphere, but on the contrary may counter- 
balance our other efforts to have it a thoroughly 
sanitary place. The battery of wooden trays will 
never bear close inspection below or behind. There 
is usually much doing in the way of water-bug 
activity upon the unseen portions of the tray. 
There is always dampness and decay, and some- 
times mold, with rusting supports and general un- 
attractiveness. It should be possible to reach the 
laundry trays on all sides, which should be smooth, 
to wipe them and keep them clean. Backs or 

88 



LAUNDRY TRAY FITTINGS. 



splash boards are best when they are an integral 
part of the tray, such as in the latest types of 
enameled cast iron and earthenware trays. 

The hot and cold water bibbs should be placed 
where they will interfere as little as possible with 
the worker. The chain attachment for the waste- 
pipe stopper and soap cups should not be placed 
in the central space at the back of the tub, where 
they are liable to catch the clothes or be in the way 
of the operator. In the latest types of trays the 
faucets are just above the shelf-like projection at 
the base of the integral splashboard, the nozzles 
projecting just beyond the edge of the shelf.. 

Various fixtures are provided for trays having 
round or rolled rims to which the clothes wringer 
may be attached, to go either between the tubs or 
at the right side of the last tub to the right. 

Laundry trays, when filled with water, are very 
heavy and should have strong and firm supports. 
The operation of the wringer is an additional 
strain. The importance of having the trays well 
secured to the floor and wall is often overlooked. 

The water supply, both hot and cold, should be 
abundant at all trays. The supply pipes, there- 
fore, should be ^-inch size. A waste pipe of 
lYz inches is ample, and the outlet and strainer 
should be calculated to fill the pipe. The ordinary 
S and P traps are most likely to lose their seals 

89 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 

through evaporation on account of infrequent use 
in the laundry unless the seals are of unusual 
depth. On account of threads and ravelings get- 
ting into the waste pipes, syphonage by capillarity 
is of somewhat frequent occurrence in laundry 
traps. Other forms of traps are therefore recom- 
mended less likely to lose their seals from these 
causes. 

The supply of hot water for the laundry comes 
usually from the kitchen range boiler. This and 
other methods of hot water supply will be treated 
in Chapter XIII, so that we need refer here only 
to the laundry stove and its attachments. The 
ordinary laundry stove is a simple affair, with 
large space for the clothes boiler and a flat surface 
for the irons. Sometimes it contains a coil or 
water front with tank attachment, so as to make 
the laundry independent of the kitchen or to fur- 
nish an additional supply. A type of special heater 
is used also for the burning of garbage and heat- 
ing of water. The garbage is placed on a grate or 
eoil over the coal and it is soon dry enough to 
burn quickly. Where a large supply of hot water 
is required this type of heater fills an important 
place. Other styles have ledges around the body 
of the stov^e with flat surfaces against which the 
flat irons may be leaned. 



90 



LAUNDRY MACHINERY. 



A clothes drying room adjacent to the laundry 
is desirable where possible. The brighter this 
room is and the better the ventilation, the better 
the results in drying the laundered goods. Clothes 
dried in the bright sunshine in the open air have a 
freshness that every housekeeper appreciates, but 
frequently the weather makes it impossible to dry 
them thus and a drying room within the house is 
quite indispensable. A part of the basement, well 
lighted with windows that may be thrown wide 
open will serve this purpose excellently. It should 
be so finished that it may be kept clean, and the 
ceiling should furnish no lodging places for dust. 

Invention has been very busy for many years 
devising laundry machinery and the production of 
laundry equipment is one of the large industries 
of the country. While attention has been given 
more particularly to machines and apparatus of 
large type for the equipment of commercial laun- 
dries, public institutions and hotels, the little do- 
mestic laundry has not been overlooked. 

One piece of equipment specially valuable in 
the home laundry is a cabinet dryer. One type of 
these is so constructed as to be heated from the 
laundry stove. A series of hot air pipes connect 
with the heating surfaces of a specially constructed 
stove and gridiron the lower part of the drying 
cabinet. Thorough and rapid ventilation is an im- 



91 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 

portant feature of a good cabinet dryer. The 
capacity of the air to absorb moisture is greatly in- 
creased by heating, but there is a Hmit to such 
capacity and a free circulation hastens the drying. 
Good ventilation makes the clothes sweeter than if 
dried in a confined space. The cabinet dryers are 
made in various sizes and cost accordingly. One 
manufacturer makes a three-rack dryer with racks 
six feet long and of a height to be reached con- 
veniently, for $104, the price including the stove. 
One fire is thus made to heat the water for the 
washing, heat the flat irons, boil the clothes and 
dry them quickly. The immediate drying of the 
clothes facilitates and lightens laundry work to an 
extent that makes such equipment greatly to be 
desired. 

The type of washing machine most effective in 
general laundry work is the drum or rotary 
washer. A 24x24-inch washer of this kind, with 
hand mechanism, is made for the home laundry by 
several manufacturers. Such a machine as this is 
offered by one house at $60. This washer re- 
quires a steam generating apparatus, which is sup- 
plied at $47.50. The clothes are subjected to a 
high temperature during the entire time of their 
agitation in the washer and thus receive a very 
thorough cleansing. 



92 



LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT. 



In place of the hand wringer of the rubber roll 
type, which so often dislodges the buttons on gar- 
ments, a small rotary extractor is available. This 
is made to be operated by hand and removes the 
water from the clothes by centrifugal force. The 
advantage is that a whole basket of clothes may 
be thrown in at a time and taken out ready for 
the dryer without handling each article separately. 
The cost of such a machine is $45. 

Where there is much laundry work the laundry 
truck has an important use. This is nothing less 
than a water-tight tub on wheels. Into it the wet 
clothes may be thrown to be taken from one ma- 
chine or receptacle to another, and the water may 
be drawn off through a faucet at the bottom. It 
costs $12. 

A small gas-heated hand mangle is made for 
family use. In this machine all the flat pieces 
may be rapidly ironed. The price quoted by one 
manufacturer is $30. 

Still another very useful article is an ironing 
board upon a strong cast iron pedestal. At one 
end is a gas stove for heating the irons. A slender 
finger of cast iron is attached to a sliding rod and 
may be moved from place to place along the board 
to lie across the article in hand to hold it securely 
while being ironed. At the end opposite the stove 
is a fixture which comes up from below to stretch 



93 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



shirts, skirts and other garments to their proper 
length while under the ironing process. 

Spraying devices are also convenient in prepar- 
ing clothes for ironing. These throw a fine mist 
and the clothes are immediately ready for ironing 
when dampened in this manner. 

Other machines, more costly, having larger ca- 
pacity and suited to larger requirements, are in- 
stalled in many of the large mansions of the coun- 
try. The laundry equipment of Senator Clark's 
mansion in New York is upon a scale in keeping 
with the magnificence of that great private estab- 
lishment. 

Other things to be supplied in the home laundry 
are such conveniences as cupboards for clothes- 
pins, clotheslines, hampers, soap and soap powders, 
bluing, borax and other useful chemicals which 
should be used only with the greatest care and 
full knowledge of their strength and their effect 
upon fabrics. 

Recently there has come into use a very con- 
venient form of tray for small flats and homes 
where a separate laundry is impossible. The 
kitchen sink and laundry tray are combined in one 
fixture, the drain board of the sink forming the 
cover of the tray. Another variation is the laundry 
tub and bath tub combined. Such conveniences 
meet the limited requirements of a great number 



94 



LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT. 



of small families whose means do not admit of 
more pretentious things, and they have an educa- 
tional effect that will develop into the wider use 
of the better things later on. 



95 



CHAPTER VII. 



HEATING BY STEAM. 

Its advantages. Types of steam hotise-heating 
boilers. Damper regulation. Pipe covering. 
Radiation. Window radiation. Wall radiation. 
Radiator valves. Radiator shields. Automatic 
air valves. Indirect steam heating. Floor and 
wall registers. Air filtering chambers. Vacuum 
heating systems. 

pERHAPS the chief advantage of steam heat- 
ing systems, as compared with others, is that 
the radiators may be situated, without loss of ef- 
ficiency, in places remote from the boiler. For 
this reason steam is generally used for heating 
large buildings. In its adaptability to the private 
house it has still this advantage. Steam is swift 
in its movement, through heating pipes as else- 
where, and the most remote radiator is soon hot 
when the temperature of the boiler's contents goes 
above the boiling point. 

Heating by steam also has the merit of fuel 
economy, delivering at the radiator 70 to 80 per 
cent of the heat of the fuel. In this respect it is 

96 



THE HEATER. 



estimated to be equal to that of the stove, where 
the combustion takes place entirely within the 
apartment and the loss of heat is only that which 
escapes up the smoke flue. A steam heating sys- 
tem, properly installed, defies the severest weather, 
warming the most remote and exposed rooms 
equally with those more protected and near the 
boiler. 

Two types of cast iron boilers are used in the 
installation of steam heating plants, both made of 
cast sections fitted together. The horizontal type, 
in which the sections are added longitudinally, has 
a square fire box and is suited for the use of coke, 
coal or wood as fuel. This type is recommended 
for soft coal, which requires to be spread thinly 
while burning. The arrangement of flues is such 
as to give the maximum of heating surface in com- 
parison with the dimensions of the grate and show 
a high efficiency. They have the merit of being 
strong and simple in construction, with a corre- 
sponding low cost, and are as easy to take care of 
as a steam boiler can be expected to be. The 
capacity of the boiler and the area of the fire box 
may be increased by putting on additional sections. 
On account of its moderate height this boiler is 
particularly suited for places where there is little 
head room. 



97 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The round type of sectional boiler is made up of 
cast iron sections piled one on top of another to 
various heights, according to the capacity required. 
If the boiler is to be of large capacity extra head 
room will be required, as each section gives addi- 
tional height. On account of the limited area of 
the grate fuel for this form of boiler should be hard 
coal or coke, or at least a free burning soft coal. It 
is often the practice where large boiler capacity is 
wanted for steam or hot water heating to install 
two or more of the cast iron sectional boilers side 
by side. The plan supplies a reserve boiler, so that 
in the event of any trouble the entire supply of 
heat will not be shut off. 

The horizontal tubular boiler is a common type 
of steel boiler. The construction is simple and it is 
considered the strongest form of tubular boiler. 
Ordinarily it has vertical rows of tubes in the lower 
half, the middle row sometimes being omitted. 
Some makers "stagger" the rows of flues. ]\Ian- 
holes, strongly reinforced, for cleaning, are neces- 
sary in such boilers. Domes are considered an 
element of weakness by boiler designers, yet serve 
the useful purpose of increasing the storage ca- 
pacity for steam and as a place from w^hich to 
draw off the dry steam. 

The locomotive type of tubular boiler is so called 
because that form of construction is much used in 



98 



TYPES OF HEATERS. 



locomotives. This has an enclosed fire box and 
may be used without having a brick setting. The 
large flat surfaces of these boilers about the fire 
box render them less strong than the plain tubular 
type. These surfaces need to be strongly braced. 
The marine is another type of cylindrical boiler, 
having a cylindrical fire box, and, while very 
strong, is more expensive than the others to con- 
struct. They are, therefore, but little used in 
low pressure stationary installations. 

Vertical tubular boilers are economical in the 
use of fuel. The flame strikes the end of the 
boiler and the heated gases pass through the ver- 
tical tubes. The fire box usually is enclosed by a 
water leg or extension of the boiler below the lower 
crown sheet, where the deposits of mud gather, 
convenient for removal. Such boilers require 
much less head room and are difficult to keep clean. 
Experience shows the common type to be short- 
lived, owing to choking with sediment, the open- 
ing of joints and leakage around the tubes of the 
lower crown sheet. New types of vertical boilers 
have come into use that give much promise. These 
have closed tubes or loops projecting horizontally 
from a central upright cylinder, giving large heat- 
ing surface. They are known as "porcupine" 
boilers. 



99 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The general types of water tube boilers are for 
the larger installations and scarcely need be con- 
sidered here. At least one small water tube boiler 
is made for house installation. 

In some small heating plants where hard coal is 
used a magazine heater is installed, which has the 
advantage of not requiring re-coaling for many 
hours. 

The effort to make the heating apparatus auto- 
matic in its action has resulted in the invention of 
many devices to control the dampers at the fire 
box and in the smoke flue. Notable among these is 
the rubber diaphragm, which is attached to the 
boiler below the water line, so that it may not 
come in contact with the steam and suffer the 
rapid deterioration which would result. The pres- 
sure upon the diaphragm sets into action a system 
of levers and connections with the dampers which 
closes them and deadens the fire. As the steam 
goes down the pressure is released and the dampers 
open again. They are subject to adjustment to the 
requirements. In another form the pressure is 
upon a piston head. When the steam pressure 
overcomes a certain weight, which may be ad- 
justed, the dampers are closed. When the pres- 
sure is released they are again opened. Metal 
diaphragms are also used for the pressure method 
of damper regulation. 



100 



PIPE COVERINGS. 



The automatic control of temperature is now 
accomplished by a number of different systems and 
is such, an important and necessary feature of sat- 
isfactory house heating that we treat it separately 
and exhaustively in Chapter XL 

The covering of steam pipes with non-conduct- 
ing materials is an important part of the work of 
installation. Two objects are accomplished by the 
covering of pipes, the prevention of fire and the 
conservation of heat for its full use at the radi- 
ators. The city ordinances in various municipali- 
ties differ somewhat in their provisions for cover- 
ing steam, hot water and hot air pipes. No uncov- 
ered pipes are allowed to be placed within a certain 
number of inches of combustible materials, a pre- 
caution that every architect and builder should in- 
sist upon as a matter of safety. The covered pipes 
also should be kept from actual contact with com- 
bustible parts of the walls or floors. 

The manufacture of pipe coverings is an industry 
engaging the attention of many large firms and 
corporations. The materials most exclusively used 
for the purpose are asbestos, magnesium and gyp- 
sum. The saving of fuel accomplished through 
having pipes well covered in a steam plant is esti- 
mated to be 10 per cent. This covering also pre- 
vents the overheating of the cellar, which should 
be kept at all times as cool as conditions will allow. 



lOI 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The heat generated at the boiler should be deliv- 
ered at the radiators and not wasted on the way. 

The equipment of a house with radiators is the 
special work of the steam heating engineer. The 
question of how many radiators there should be 
and what sizes each room should have is one of 
scientific knowledge, which has been completely 
tabulated and is available for those who are par- 
ticularly interested. In this chapter we shall at- 
tempt only to indicate the available forms of radi- 
ators and the latest practice in their use. Great 
advances have been made and the subject is one 
brimming with interest. 

The radiator is the delivery station for the pro- 
duct of the steam boiler. It may be a plain as- 
semblage of radiator sections at one side of a room 
or it may have a very pretty and attractive design. 
If other conveniences are not available and neces- 
sity demands, the dining room radiator may con- 
tain a warming oven with ornate doors. It is 
scarcely necessary to add that the warming oven 
should be in the kitchen if possible. 

In the halls or in front of windows the radiators 
may have a height of 15 or 16 inches, with a slab 
above, to be used as a seat in the summer season. 
If it is desired to warm a bow window a low 
circling radiator coming to the sill may be in- 
stalled. At the side of the stairs in the hall the 



102 



RADIATOR DESIGNS. 



radiator columns may be of varying heights, cor- 
responding with the heights of the successive steps 
beside which they stand. In front of a narrow win- 
dow the central part may be made to correspond 
with the height of the sill and the sides, the ordi- 
nary radiator height of 38 inches. 

In the designing of radiators almost every re- 
quirement seems now to have been anticipated. It 
is often desirable that the radiators shall not stand 
upon the floor. Partly to obviate this an inventive 
genius has designed a special type of radiator leg 
or support which hugs the wall and makes the 
cutting of a carpet unnecessary. It has somewhat 
the shape of a duck's foot, the leg standing next 
to the baseboard and a flat extension coming for- 
ward on the floor to preserve the equilibrium of 
the load. 

Another type of radiator is extensively manufac- 
tured to be supported by substantial brackets on 
the wall. These are made in convenient sections 
and are as unobtrusive as any direct-heating ap- 
paratus possibly can be. When not required for 
heating, the wall radiators may be sometimes used 
as shelves for pictures and other ornaments. 

Many tests have been made to determine the 
efficiency of the various forms of radiators, but re- 
sults have varied widely, owing to many obvious 
difficulties. The results generally show that a low 



103 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOjME. 



radiator yields a greater amount of heat in pro- 
portion to its heating surface than the higher 
forms ; that the radiators with widely separated 
coils or columns are more efficient in proportion 
to heating surface than those with closely set col- 
umns, because the air circulation is better and 
there is less re-radiation. Rough surfaces yield 
a much larger percentage of heat units than pol- 
ished ones. Bronzing the surface of cast iron 
seems to increase the radiation slightly, while paint- 
ing with white paint reduces it quite appreciably. 

Radiator forms have undergone many changes 
until now the cast iron sectional type is used al- 
most exclusively in house heating. A compara- 
tively new type is the pressed steel radiator. Claims 
in its favor are that it is much lighter and there- 
fore much easier to install, and that it has much 
better conductivity of heat than the thicker metal 
of the casting. These radiators are also strikingly 
ornamental. 

The old types of radiators include the wrought 
iron pipe coils, known as the return-bend coils, the 
branch-tree and the branch-tree mitre coils. The 
box coil is a compact assemblage of return coils. 
These forms are still used for shop and factory 
heating, but are unsightly for direct heating in the 
house. Vertical pipe radiators were made by screw- 
ing short pieces of wrought iron pipe into a hollow 



104 



KAUiAlOR DESIGN. 



cast iron base, the pipes beitig connected in pairs 
sU the top by return bends. Single sliort pieces of 
pipe with closed en(b were also used^ screwed into 
a base in the same way. Eadi pipe contained a 
diaphragm dividing it into two chambers, connect' 
ing at the top, so as to give the same result as two 
pipes connected by a return bend. Ornamental 
tops or screens were placed upon these radiators, 
giving a neat tHect, The modem cast iron sec- 
tional radiator is produced in such attractive de- 
signs that the ornamental top has gone the way 
of other unnecessary things. 

For direct-indirect radiation steam radiators are 
made so that flues are formed among the several 
columns, open only at the top and bottom. When 
connected with a cold air inlet at the bottom they 
supply a desirable system of combined ventilation 
and heating. 

The valve is perhaps the least ornamental fea- 
ture of the modern radiator. It has remained 
practically unchanged for years, and all radiator 
valves seem to be open to the same criticism. 
Something in the way of new design to bring it 
more in harmony with its surroundings and to make 
it appear more like a part of the radiator would 
find appreciation among those who aim to har- 
monize the useful equipment of a home with its 
ornamental furnishings. 



lO: 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The necessity of protecting delicately tinted 
walls and draperies from injury to which they are 
liable by reason of the nearness of radiators has 
prompted the use of radiator shields. These are 
made of brass, bronze and other sheet metals, also 
part glass, in ornamental designs. Some of them 
are very attractive as well as serviceable. The air 
currents created by the radiator often are laden 
with dust particles, w^hich in time streak the walls 
and soil the draperies. Sometimes the radiators 
are placed too near a varnished or painted surface 
and the use of shields becomes desirable, and they 
are constructed either to separate the surface to be 
protected from the radiator or to deflect the heat 
into the room and away from the wall or drapery. 

The contriving of ingenious automatic air valves 
for radiators seems to be the particular sport of 
inventors. They have produced so many patterns 
in this necessary appendage that the market is sup- 
plied with a number of excellent designs. The 
valve should be automatic rather than positive in 
its action or much trouble will result in the wetting 
of carpets and staining of walls, floors and dra- 
peries. Valves should be placed on all radiators 
for the escape of air, which is certain to collect at 
high points in the heating system. Where the 
valve needs to be opened and closed by hand it is 
very human to open it to allow the air to escape 

io6 



AIR VALVES. 



and then go away, forgetting all about it. The 
ascending steam drives out first the air and then 
perhaps the water of condensation, if it has not run 
off when the radiator was cool. This water is 
usually rusty and sometimes greasy and offensive. 

One form of air valve depends upon the heat 
of the steam to expand a metal strip the ends of 
which are held securely, causing the middle to 
bend under the heat, closing the air valve. In 
another a slender cylinder has a minute air escape 
in the end. The heat of the steam lengthens the 
cylinder slightly, forcing the aperture against a 
pin-plug held between two uprights that are not 
affected by the heat. Other forms make use of 
other expansive substances than metal to cause 
the air-escape to close when the steam heats the 
valve. To prevent the escape of water if the 
other part of the valve does not close under heat, 
some valves are provided with floats which act 
upon the aperture as soon as water enters the cham- 
ber, effectively closing the valve. 

Indirect heating by steam presents several ad- 
vantages over the direct method. The radiators 
are placed in the basement in an enclosed chamber, 
from which the heat is conducted to the rooms 
through pipes in the same manner as from a hot 
air furnace. A fresh air inlet is necessary, as in the 
case of the hot air furnace, and the advantage of 



107 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



ventilation is secured, an advantage greatly to be 
desired for the health and comfort of the family. 
Special forms of radiators are constructed for in- 
direct steam heating systems. These take the form 
of the extended surface radiators or radiators with 
fin-like and pin-like projections, which increase the 
radiating surface. These may be assembled in 
stacks in a single chamber or may be installed in 
separate boxes beneath the floor near where the 
register is to be placed for the room above. This 
method of indirect heating saves much space in 
the rooms for other uses that by the direct method 
would be occupied by radiators. Although made as 
attractive in design as possible, the heating ap- 
paratus in a room is not desired for other than its 
utilitarian purpose. 

Both the direct and indirect systems may be em- 
ployed in combination with advantage, the indirect 
for the low^er rooms and for the purpose of venti- 
lation, and the direct for the more remote upper 
rooms, which are less easily heated by means of 
hot air pipes of the indirect system. 

The registers should be placed in the baseboard 
rather than in the floor for indirect heating or for 
ventilation. The floor register becomes a catch-all 
for sweepings and other litter and, where carpets 
are used, necessitate cutting around the registers. 

io8 



IMPROVED AIR DISTRIBUTION. 



Where rugs are used the floor registers often in- 
terfere with their arrangement. 

An improved system of distribution for warm air 
in indirect heating systems was described by A. O. 
Jones in "Domestic Engineering" September 15, 
1906. In this system only half the number of pipes 
lead from the furnace or heating chamber, each 
pipe having large capacity and designed to furnish 
warm air for two rooms. The registers for the 
two rooms, one on the first and the other on the 
second floor, are placed preferably in the baseboard 
of each room, one directly over the other, and con- 
nected by a wall flue. The current of air from the 
big pipe is divided at the lower register by a de- 
flecting wing extending into the pipe. This de- 
flecting wing or valve may be adjusted so as to take 
much or little of the column of air or may deflect 
the whole column to either room. The advan- 
tages of this arrangement are that the warm col- 
umn has greater height and therefore a more rapid 
movement, which advantage accrues in part to the 
lower room ; also that the air may be shut off en- 
tirely from the upper rooms when not in use, giving 
the lower rooms the advantage of larger pipes 
than otherwise they would have. The saving in 
piping is also a consideration as well as the advan- 
tage of being able to secure a better arrangement 



109 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



of pipes at the hood of the furnace or warm air 
generating chamber. 

The filtering of air for the house, desirable both 
from the practical as well as the esthetic point of 
view, is easy of accomplishment. The saving of 
much labor by reason of reducing the amount of 
dust and soot to enter the house is worth many 
times the effort. For a house already built cheese- 
cloth screens may be placed in the cold air inlet. 
The system, preferably, should have a commodious 
filtering chamber in the basement, where large sur- 
faces of cloth may be interposed between the outer 
air and the heating apparatus or house interior. 
This room may be long and narrow, the frame for 
the filtering cloths running lengthwise of the 
room. The frame should fit snugly on all sides 
and, to prevent the filter cloths from bellying, may 
be covered with coarse poultry netting. The filter 
cloth should be made the size of the frame, so 
that it may be fastened on hooks or pins at all the 
edges and easily removed to be cleaned. Two or 
more cloths may be provided, so that fresh ones 
may be put in place as often as necessary. Two 
doors should open into the filtering chamber, one 
in front of the filter and the other behind it. It 
should be possible also to shut off the air supply 
from the house while changing the filters, so that 
any dust falling from the filters may not be car- 



no 



AIR WASHING. 



ried into the house. The filter cloth should not be 
so fine as to shut off too completely the supply of 
air, nor so coarse as to let into the house the 
sooty particles that float in the atmosphere of most 
cities and large towns. A closer fabric may be 
desirable in winter than summer and other vari- 
ations may be suggested by experience. 

Authorities do not encourage any attempt to 
humidify the air in excess of fifty per cent of satu- 
ration. Dry furnace air is no longer considered 
harmful, for it is known that on the contrary some 
of the most healthful settlements of the country are 
those situated in the desert regions, where the per- 
centage of moisture in the air is very slight. 

Air washing devices have been long in use, in 
which the process consists of forcing the air 
through a sheet or spray of water which com- 
bines with the impurities in the air and prevents 
their passage to the ventilating system. Prof. John 
R. Allen says that the air-washing system of one 
large building yields two wagon loads of dirt per 
week, taken from the air by the spraying device. 
This method is also used for cooling the atmos- 
phere. 

The vacuum steam heating system is considered 
to be the most signal advance in the science in 
many years. In an absolute vacuum, 29.92 inches, 
water will boil at 98 degrees, producing a warm 



III 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



vapor. In a 20-inch vacuum it will boil at 161. 2 
degrees. The weight of the atmosphere, 14.7 
pounds to the square inch, prevents water boiling 
in the air until a temperature of 212 degrees is 
reached. In the vacuum system advantage is taken 
of this law and the radiators are heated to any 
desired degree through a wide range of tempera- 
ture. 

In installing the vacuum system it is necessary 
that the fitting be done perfectly to make it abso- 
lutely air-tight. The smallest leak in any part of 
the piping in time breaks the vacuum and impairs 
the efficiency of the system. Vacuum heating 
can be applied to old systems of steam heat- 
ing, greatly increasing their efficiency and work- 
ing a large saving in the winter coal bills. When 
steam enters any steam heating system it expels 
the air through the various valves, and when the 
steam cools and condenses a vacuum is left in the 
pipes and radiators. By the use of simple devices 
this vacuum is preserved so that the temperature 
of the water in the boiler may be held far below 
the boiling point and yet maintain in the system the 
hot vapor which will supply the necessary radi- 
ation for warming the apartments. 

The radiator and valves are all connected, 
through very small pipes, with simple devices in 
the basement, which operate to maintain any par- 



112 



VACUUM HEATING. 



ticular temperature for which the indicator may 
be set. By controlHng the vacuum the tempera- 
ture at the radiators may also be controlled per- 
fectly. The saving of fuel is shown to be from 
one-fifth to one-third of the usual amount con- 
sumed in the ordinary steam heating plant, thus 
securing an advantage in lower cost of fuel and 
the reduced labor of handling it. 



113 



Chapter VIII. 



HEATING BY HOT WATER. 

Its advantages. Types of house-heating hot water 
boilers. Draft regulators. Expansion tanks. 
Heat retainers, generators, and heat economizers. 
Special circulation fittings. Radiators. Wall 
and zvindozi' radiators. Radiator valves. Radi- 
ator air valves. Systons of piping. 

IIJ OT WATER systems for heating have their 
earnest advocates in large numbers. Theory 
and experience have brought into existence many 
inventions and improvements which, by their prac- 
tical application, have advanced this method of 
heating to a high state of perfection. The distinc- 
tive advantages claimed for hot water heating are 
its economy of fuel and the more satisfactory de- 
grees of temperature attainable. 

In a general way the hot water system is a dupli- 
cate of the steam heating plant, with such vari- 
ations as are made necessary by the slower move- 
ment and greater weight of the water. The hot 
water system is more expensive to install, requiring 
larger pipes and more of them, and a far greater 



114 



HOT WATER HEATERS. 



area of radiating surface. It is also less responsive 
than the other systems, requiring a considerably 
longer time to warm the house, but once in action 
it maintains a steady heat at a fixed temperature 
so long as it has reasonable attention. It is prob- 
ably the least exacting in its demands for attention 
of all systems, and therein is one of the dangers. 
We are sometimes apt to expect too much. A radi- 
ator in a remote part of the house may be turned 
off inadvertently and allowed to freeze, bursting a 
section, a flood following. An air valve may be- 
come slightly disarranged and flood an upper room 
with water. No system is without its defects or 
its exactions in the matter of attention. 

The types of boilers for heating by water are 
practically identical with the steam boilers, many 
being made for the double purpose. In the water 
heater, however, the steam section, dome or header 
is not necessary. The horizontal cast iron sec- 
tional boiler with square fire box is one of the 
types most used. It requires little head room and 
is strong and simple of construction. The method 
of construction is an elastic one, the capacity 
of the boiler being increased by the addition of 
sections longitudinally. The round sectional up- 
right may be used where there is plenty of head 
room. The required capacity is attained, as in 
the horizontal type, by adding sections. These are 



115 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



of cast iron and are piled one on top of another 
until their combined capacity equals the necessities 
of the installation. This type has all the advan- 
tages in fuel economy of other vertical boilers. 
The fire plays directly upon the lower sections and 
the hot gases pass through the flues to their final 
escape in the stack. 

The aim in boiler construction, to secure the 
largest results from the combustion of the fuel, is 
attained in varying degrees and with more or less 
completeness in boilers of modern design. For 
small plants the boilers or water heaters are sup- 
plied complete and compact, requiring the least pos- 
sible expense in their installation, and one may 
scarcely choose amiss among the better known 
makes. 

The qualities to be sought in a water heater or 
boiler are several. There should be an abundant 
heating surface in proportion to the area of the 
grate. A grate with 3 square feet of surface 
should have heating surface in the boiler of 60 to 
90 square feet. There should be plenty of circu- 
lating spaces, so that the water may move freely 
around the heating surfaces to take up the heat 
transmitted from the hot gases. The better the 
provisions in these regards the lower will be the 
temperature at the stack and the smaller the loss 
from fuel combustion. In economical heaters the 



116 



LARGE HEATING PLANTS. 



temperature at the stack is not over 300 and in no 
case should exceed 450 degrees. Unless the fire 
and its gases are well distributed through flues or 
fire tubes, the desired economy is not accomplished. 

For larger installations the various forms of 
tubular boilers may be considered, but very satis- 
factory results are accomplished by using two or 
more of the cast iron heaters side by side and 
maintaining the necessary number of fires to meet 
the exigencies of the season. The several forms 
of tubular boilers have been mentioned in the pre- 
ceding chapter. To these may be added a small 
type of water tube boiler intended for house heating 
plants, for which is claimed an extreme simplicity 
of construction and quickness of action that gives 
it an advantage over the more established types. 
On account of the advanced state of perfection in 
the established methods of installation, and of sys- 
tems generally, any novelty or decided variation 
from present standards is taken up reluctantly. 
New ideas must prove their right to consideration 
and force themselves upon the conservative trade 
and cautious public. The heating plant is such an 
important part of the expense of a home that the 
architect and the owner require sure knowledge 
upon the merits of the system to be adopted. 

No system of heating requires such careful and 
thorough workmanship as that for heating by hot 



117 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



water. Steam has such facility of movement that 
it glides through the smallest opening with the 
swiftness of a race horse, while water moves with 
slow deliberation and must have a clear path with 
graceful curves around which it may flow with the 
least opposition, friction or obstruction. All pipe 
ends should be carefully reamed, whether for 
steam or water, particularly for water, in order 
that there shall be no burrs to obstruct the flow. 
In the best construction the short elbows common 
for steam installation should be displaced in the hot 
water system by long-radius ells, long-radius branch 
ells, long-radius tees and crosses, turned in the di- 
rection of flow. Other special fittings, for the one- 
pipe system, are made to deliver the return water 
to the cooler layer on the lower side of the main. 

The efficiency of a hot water system depends 
much upon the freedom of flow, and this flow de- 
pends upon the difference in weight of the water 
in the hot and cold legs of the system minus the 
friction due to turns and other obstructions. The 
proper pitch upward for all horizontal pipes carry- 
ing hot water and the downward pitch of all pipes 
carrying the cooled water are to be regarded. 
Larger pipes are necessary than with steam be- 
cause of the slower movement of water, and the 
complete circuit is generally preferred because of 
the freer flow thus allowed. The two-pipe system 

ii8 



DAMPER REGULATION. 



requires more piping, but this expense is in a 
measure offset by the saving in the size of the 
pipes. 

Damper regulation is accomplished with hot 
water heaters in much the same manner as with 
steam. In the case of the hot water heater a liquid 
which will vaporize at a lower temperature than 
water is used to create the pressure by which a 
diaphragm is made to act upon levers or clockwork 
and open or close the dampers. The heat of the 
water heater is communicated by attaching the in- 
strument where it will continually have the heat 
of the water in contact with the reservoir contain- 
ing the more sensitive fluid. The thermostat, con- 
trolled by the temperature of the heated apart- 
ments, is also made to regulate the dampers of the 
hot water furnace with considerable exactness. 

One feature of the hot water system not re- 
quired with steam is the expansion tank. Water 
when heated shows a considerable degree of ex- 
pansion. The difference between the temperature 
of greatest density, 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and the 
boiling point, 212 degrees, is the difference between 
.99989 and 1.04440, or about 5 per cent of the 
volume of the water. The expansion tank allows 
for this change of density. It should be situated 
somewhat above the highest point of radiation in 
the system, where it will not be in danger of freez- 



119 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



ing. It should have a closed cover, a glass water 
gauge, a vent pipe leading upward to the open air, 
and a waste pipe or overflow. The connection be- 
tween the heating system and the tank should be 
such as cannot become clogged, as the expansion 
to the boiling point is practically irresistible, and 
serious results might follow the stoppage of the 
expansion pipe. The size of the tank, based on the 
law of expansion, should have a capacity some- 
what in excess of one-twentieth of the cubical con- 
tents of the system. The height of the tank above 
the boiler will influence the boiling point to the 
extent of the pressure exerted by the head thus 
created. Each foot of head is equivalent to 0.435 
pounds per square inch. With a 36-foot head the 
boiling point would thus be raised to a temperature 
of 250 degrees and a pressure at the boiler of 15 
pounds per square inch above the atmosphere. 

This additional pressure is of advantage when 
higher temperatures are desired at the radiators. 
To provide for certain additional stress upon the 
system various inventions have been made under 
the names of heat retainers, heat generators and 
heat economizers. These take the form of mer- 
cury traps interposed at some convenient point be- 
tween the system and the expansion tank. A body 
or column of mercury is made to resist the ex- 
pansive force of the water to create the desired 



120 



IMPROVED DEVICES. 



pressure, generally about lo pounds in excess of 
the pressure under ordinary conditions. It is sel- 
dom desirable to carry over 20 pounds pressure, 
either in a steam or hot water plant, for the pur- 
pose of heating. Where the mercury seal is used 
greater results are secured from the same area 
of radiation on account of the higher temperatures 
throughout the system. A saving of about 10 per 
cent of radiators and piping is claimed for these 
devices. The heater must be of full capacity, 
however, the higher temperature merely accelerat- 
ing the movement of the water in the system and 
securing a greater service from the radiators; 

The radiators in the hot water service require 
two connections, one at the top of the columns and 
the other at the base. The columns themselves 
must also have top and bottom connections with 
one another in order that the water may circulate 
through them. In these respects they differ from 
the steam radiator. While hot water radiators may 
be used with success for steam heating, the steam 
radiator cannot be successfully used in a hot water 
heating system. The arrangement of the hot water 
radiators may be planned in the house as for steam 
heating, except that space must be provided for 
about one-third greater radiating surface. 

Manufacturers provide radiators for hot water, 
as for steam, to meet every requirement; low radi- 



121 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



ators to be placed in front of windows, curved radi- 
ators for bow windows, and thin ones to be sus- 
pended upon wall brackets. Special forms are 
made for indirect heating, the radiators being in- 
stalled in chambers beneath the floor, which open 
into warm air flues that discharge through registers 
at the baseboard. Fresh air is fed into the cham- 
bers from out of doors and the plan serves the 
needs of ventilation and heating. Flue radiators 
are used for the direct-indirect system of heating. 
The columns of the radiators are so made that, 
when assembled, flues will be formed among the 
columns, open only at the bottom and top. The 
radiator is made to sit over the box end of a cold 
air duct, which admits fresh air from out of doors 
through the radiator flues, where it is heated and 
passes into the room. This system affords de- 
sirable ventilation. 

As a precaution against freezing, the radiator 
valves of a hot water system are usually so that 
they may not be entirely closed. A small hole is 
left in the valve-shield to allow the water to cir- 
culate so long as there is heat in the system. There 
are numerous patterns and it is wise to see that 
valves of the kind described are used in any new 
system. Here again may be emphasized the de- 
sirability of something more ornate in the exterior 



122 



HOT WATER PIPING. 



design of radiator valves, something not quite so 
suggestive of the shop from which they came. 

Radiators for hot water require air valves, as in 
the case of steam. These are, or should be, auto- 
matic in their operation, closing wdth a float. A 
defective air valve upon a hot water radiator may 
cause a small flood before its defective character is 
discovered, and for this reason the valve should 
not only be of good design, but well made. It will 
be costly economy to use any but the best. 

The various systems of piping for hot water 
heating are governed in their design by the law of 
flow which manifests itself when the natural 
equilibrium existing between two connected col- 
umns of water is disturbed by the application of 
heat. In a heating system the pipe or riser, from 
which the connections are made to the upper parts 
of the radiators, is taken from the top of the 
water heater. The return pipes from the bot- 
toms of the radiators are brought to the bottom 
of the heater. The water is heated and thereby 
expanded, losing a certain amount of weight in 
proportion to its bulk. The weight of water at 40 
degrees is 62.425 pounds per cubic foot. At 212 
degrees it is 59.760 pounds, a difference of more 
than 2^ pounds per cubic foot. The difference of 
a few ounces in weight between the ascending and 
descending columns is sufficient to establish and 



123 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



maintain a steady flow, the law operating to re- 
establish the equilibrium, but the heat of the fire 
keeping the two columns out of balance. 

In the one-pipe system the riser connects with 
one or more horizontal mains, which make a cir- 
cuit of the basement at a pitch downward, coming 
into the bottom of the boiler. From these mains 
smaller risers ascend to each radiator, one con- 
necting with the top of the main and the top of 
the radiator, the other connecting with the bot- 
tom of the radiator and with the lower side of the 
main. The pitch of all pipes must be such that 
the system may be completely drained when the 
fire is out. 

In the two-pipe system the mains traverse the 
building so that each radiator conveniently may be 
connected with the flow and return mains and may 
be cut out or shut off without interfering with the 
circulation of the system. This is called by some 
a compound circuit to distinguish it from a simple 
circuit where the water flows direct from the heater 
to a single radiator and is returned to the heater 
direct. 

The open circuit is that in which the main flow is 
through all the radiators, none of which may be 
shut off without stopping the flow from all. This 
may be used with advantage frequently for a part 
of the heating system of a house, as in contiguous 



124 



SUMMER CARE. 



rooms and halls which are in continual use and 
where there is no occasion to shut off any one ra- 
diator. 

It is important to maintain the water in the sys- 
tem at a certain head. This is done by means of 
city water pressure, or, in its absence, a hand force- 
pump at the boiler, a few strokes from which will 
restore any loss through evaporation or waste at 
the expansion tank. A gauge on the boiler shows 
the pressure and the height of the water in the sys- 
tem at all times. While the expansion tank should 
have a glass water gauge attached, it is seldom 
necessary to refer to it except for the purpose of 
verifying the altitude gauge on the boiler. 



SUMMER CARE OF HEATING PLANTS. 

Not alone for the purpose of preserving one's 
property but in order to have the heating plant in 
proper condition when it is desired to make use of it 
again in the fall, every owner of a heating system 
or tenant who has occasion to use one should see 
that it has proper care. The following directions 
for caring for steam and hot-water heating plants 
in summer, so that no deterioration shall take place 
while they are not in use, were prepared by ex- 
perts in the business and deserve to be posted in 



125 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



every basement and heeded in every particular by 
those to whom they apply: 

All boilers, cast iron or steel, water or stea.m, 
should have the water removed which was in use 
during the winter season, and the system filled with 
fresh water up to a point where the mains and 
lateral branches are full. The pipes above the 
cellar floor and radiation in the rooms will soon 
dry in the interior, so there is no necessity of filling 
them with water, for they will not rust while dry. 

In boilers with hand-hole plates, or boilers of 
which the interiors can be cleaned in any way, it 
is well to wash them out thoroughly before re- 
filling with cold water. 

The deterioration of heating boilers that takes 
place in the summer months is due, to a large ex- 
tent, to sulphur contained in the soot, particularly 
if soft coal has been used as fuel. The water in the 
atmosphere condenses on the cold plates of the 
boiler and moistens the soot, forming in combina- 
tion a substance that attacks the plates and de- 
stroys them very rapidly. Therefore great care 
should be exercised in removing all particles of 
soot from all parts of the boiler where it has ad- 
hered. 

Spray all flue surfaces with kerosene oil, or crude 
oil. This prevents rusting. 

126 



SUMMER CARE. 



Leave the feed, ash, and clean-out doors open. 

Take down the smoke pipe, clean it carefully, and 
leave it down until fall. 

Remove all ashes and clinkers from grate bars 
and ash pit. 

Paint outside surfaces with heat proof black 
enamel, made for the purpose. 



127 



Chapter IX. 



HEATING BY WARM AIR. 

Its advantages. Types of zvarm air furnaces. Com- 
bination zvann air and steam and warm air and 
hot water heaters. Auxiliary heating coils and 
sections. Draft regulation. Location of fur- 
nace. Brick work. Fresh air supply. Warm 
• air in Hues. Furnace pipe and fittings. Wall 
and floor registers. 

^ I "*HE hot-air furnace of today was evolved from 
the cast-iron stove. It is still a stove, upon a 
large scale, enclosed in a chamber and by means of 
pipes made to do duty for several rooms instead of 
one. It is best suited for small houses, but fails in 
efficiency very often because of improper installa- 
tion. 

Very often the fault is with the architect because 
of his imperfect knowledge of the requirements in 
successful house heating by warm air from the 
common furnace. Even the best of furnace men 
cannot be expected to take the complete plans 
of a house and so dispose the pipes from a furnace 
as to get adequate results. If the architect is a 

128 



GET GOOD ADVICE. 



master of the principles of heating and ventilating 
he will have provided for the location of the fur- 
nace and the course and location of the heating 
pipes in his plans. If he is not a master of these 
principles his duty is clear. He should submit ten- 
tative plans to a competent furnace man and ascer- 
tain what the requirements are that he may incor- 
porate in his plans such provisions as the furnace 
expert may suggest. 

A bumptious architect is certain to suffer loss of 
reputation, or may fail to win one worth having by 
a disregard of what many have hitherto considered 
small details, the details of the furnace system. 
True the furnace is a simple affair but not too sim- 
ple to have a mighty influence on the comfort and 
pleasures of a home. A house may have the most 
beautiful facade on the avenue, the most pleasant 
outlook, the costliest wood-work and the finest of 
architectural detail and yet be about as habitable as 
a country barn in winter if the heating system is 
not adequate to the requirements. The purpose of 
this chapter is to offer such timely suggestions as 
we have been able to gather from many sources, as 
to the best practice in hot-air furnace installation. 

The market affords many successful types and 
patterns. The oldest houses in the furnace trade in 
this country have been in the business over sixty 
years, so that there is plenty of good advice avail- 



129 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



able and it is in the nature of things that the pro- 
portion of successful furnace installations should 
be much larger than really it is. The fault primar- 
ily is with the architect who thinks the furnace man 
is to blame. But the latter says the tinner may not 
have gotten the pipes just right. So it is the tin- 
ner, who never studied physics in his life and can- 
not explain the first principles of a furnace, who 
really is to blame. The owner regrets that he didn't 
watch the job more closely, but says that he hired 
the architect for that purpose and supposed he 
w^as attending to it. The upshot is that all the 
bills having been paid and the house occupied, the 
furnace heats one or two rooms well and all the 
others indifferently. The family is destined there- 
after to hug the grate fire in zero weather and 
shiver in all the other rooms. The furnace is 
crowded to the utmost but shows an unmistakable 
partiality for two or three flues. The discomfort 
might all have been avoided by the forethought of 
the architect in properly placing the rooms, the reg- 
isters, the ventilators, the pipes and the furnace 
and specifying the capacity of the furnace. 

Long practice has shown that the furnace should 
have a large combustion chamber directly over the 
firepot where the blaze and the hot gases may have 
their first full play upon an ample surface which 
will transmit and radiate the heat rapidly. Some- 



130 



ADVANTAGES OF HOT AIR. 



times the combustion chamber is crossed by several 
flues for the more complete radiation of heat. In 
some types of furnaces this chamber is surrounded 
by one or more rows of perpendicular flues around 
which the flames and gases may play, creating cur- 
rents of air upward through the flues. In other 
types the combustion chamber is extended around 
the outside of the central chamber with air space be- 
tween, thus greatly extending the radiating surface. 

The advantage of the hot air furnace is the low 
cost of installation and the ventilation which the 
system affords. No other system of heating keeps 
such a volume of fresh air in motion except the in- 
direct methods of steam and hot water heating. 

The cost of original installation as estimated by 
furnace men is placed at one-half that of steam and 
one-third that of hot water, for an ordinary dwell- 
ing. But after the hot air system is all in place it 
may prove to be a failure in some parts of the house. 
No system requires more careful study by a fur- 
nace engineer of unquestioned competency. It is 
within the knowledge of almost every one that many 
furnaces fail to perform with even fair satisfaction 
the duties expected of them, a condition due to 
competition or to the inability of the furnace man 
to do his work properly. 

Other advantages claimed for the hot-air furnace 
are : that little skill is required in its management 



131 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



and that it needs but little attention; that it is not 
liable to get out of order and when repairs are 
needed they are comparatively inexpensive. 

Although used comparatively little, one of the 
most successful systems of heating is that which 
combines the hot-air furnace with the hot water or 
steam heat. This provides for the ventilation of 
the house and insures the proper heating of rooms 
remote from the furnace. The furnaces constructed 
with this double purpose in view are made to heat 
80 per cent of the house with hot air and 20 per 
cent with hot water or in any proportion up to 70 
per cent hot water and 30 per cent hot air. The 
water is heated by means of coils or specially cast 
hollow plates with proper connections suspended 
in the combustion chamber of the furnace. These 
coils or plates are so placed as to interfere as little 
as possible with combustion but at the same time 
are completely enveloped in the gases from the 
burning of the fuel. 

Some fifteen years ago the combination of hot 
air and hot water in heating houses was considered 
one of the most advanced steps made in this im- 
portant science. But steam heating and hot-water 
heating became so popular that the combination 
system, possessing such indisputable merit, was to 
a considerable degree lost sight of. But shrewd 
manufacturers, while yielding to the popular de- 



132 



COMBINATION SYSTEMS. 



mand, did not overlook the value of the combina- 
tion system and have evolved excellent types of 
apparatus for this purpose. 

Steam is to some extent used instead of hot water 
in the combination system. When this is done a 
tubular boiler is suspended in the large combustion 
chamber of a specially built furnace. The plan 
leaves large radiating surface for the warm air 
system of heating and ventilating. 

The advantages of the combination plan are that, 
while having the desirable ventilation of the hot-air 
system, the radiators for hot water or steam may 
be placed in the more exposed and remote rooms 
and perfect heating in those apartments secured. 
The first floor of the house may be warmed by the 
hot-air system with the advantage of abundant ven- 
tilation, with perhaps a hot water or steam radi- 
ator in the hall and the upper rooms also sup- 
plied with the radiators. Ventilators should be sup- 
plied in all rooms, preferably in the baseboards, for 
the escape of vitiated air. The fresh air from below 
will thus find its way to the upper rooms, keeping 
the air of the whole house in an agreeable condi- 
tion. 

The heat of the furnace is frequently used as 
an auxiliary source of hot water for the kitchen 
tank and the bath. This is done by suspending a 
coil or special hollov/ casting in the dome of the 



133 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 

furnace with proper connections. Unless the de- 
mand for hot water is large the amount of pipe- 
heating surface in the furnace should be very small 
or the water in the tank will be kept at too high a 
temperature. 

The object of all furnace designs is to secure the 
highest results from a given amount of coal or other 
fuel. Each designer or manufacturer is aiming 
to reach the same goal but by a slightly different 
route. In selecting a furnace preference should be 
given to such forms as make best provision for the 
radiation of the heat and the upward movement of 
the heated air among the flues. Some furnace de- 
signers contend that it is as bad a mistake to get 
too much radiating surface in proportion to the 
size of the grate and the fire-pot as too little. Prac- 
tice has established the rule of providing a maxi- 
mum of about 70 square feet of radiating surface 
to each square foot of grate. By the rules ordi- 
narily followed a house containing 16,000 cubic 
feet of space to be heated would require a furnace 
having between 4 and 5 square feet of grate and 
300 to 350 square feet of radiating surface. The 
heating capacity of a furnace is often figured too 
high and liberal allowance should be made. It is 
better to err on the side of a large furnace than on 
too small a one. It should never be necessary to 



134 



HELPS TO HEATING. 



crowd a furnace to the extent of having the fire- 
pot red hot. 

So many conditions arise to influence the effec- 
tiveness of a furnace that liberal estimates are best. 
The direction and violence of the wind, the ventila- 
tion of the rooms, the disproportionate arrangement 
of the hot-air flues, the snug or loose construction 
of the house, all have a bearing upon the behavior 
of the hot-air furnace. The movement of a cur- 
rent of air whose motion depends upon the buoy- 
ancy due to its heat is often upset by a trifling 
cause. 

A well-built house is the best help to a furnace. 
A house needs to be well sheathed and the sheath- 
ing well covered with two or more thicknesses of 
heavy building paper beneath the siding. A single 
thickness of building paper is full of air holes. All 
spaces around the sills need to be well stopped so 
that no air may get between the walls. The joints 
around window and door casing and around win- 
dows and doors themselves need to be snug, to re- 
sist the winter winds. Such precautions make the 
best start toward having a house properly heated in 
the coldest weather. Storm windows should be sup- 
plied, particularly on the more exposed sides of the 
house. The best time to have these made is when 
the house is built, making them a part of the con- 
tract. 



i^ 



JO 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



With a house thus carefully constructed, the 
heating problem is simplified. Practical furnace 
men prefer to put in a large furnace with pipes 
larger than the actual necessities, but the conditions 
of competitive bidding generally forbid this. As 
with other systems the radiation and distribution of 
heat should be such as to heat the house with ease 
and without forcing in the coldest weather. 

An ideal hot-air furnace is one that not only 
meets requirements in economy of fuel and abund- 
ant radiation but which may be cared for easily ; 
one which has an ample ash pit and doors that 
close tight so that fine ashes may not escape while 
shaking. It should have tight joints which do not 
permit the escape of gas or smoke into the air flues. 
There should be no perpendicular joints which need 
to be closed with cement because the uncertainty 
of the cement remaining in them renders them liable 
to leakage sooner or later. For this reason the cast- 
ings of the fire-pot and the dome over the fire-pot 
should be complete as to their circumference. If all 
cemented joints are horizontal, with flanges well 
packed with furnace cement, their permanency is 
assured. 

Draft regulation with the hot-air furnace is gen- 
erally accomplished by means of chains extending 
to some convenient point on the first floor. The 
chains connect with the several dampers which may 

136 



LOCATION OF FURNACE. 



be raised and lowered as desired. The automatic 
regulation of dampers is very satisfactorily done by 
means of thermostats and mechanical connections 
for the purpose. We shall have more to say about 
these in Chapter XL 

The furnace should have a chimney connection 
through a seven or eight inch pipe and the chimney 
flue should be large. Eight by twelve inches is 
none too large and the flue should have no other 
openings for grates or stoves. A large flue makes 
a good draft to carry off the gases when their heat 
has been extracted by the radiating surfaces. Small 
chimney flues are continually giving trouble. 
The location of the furnace is preferably near 
the center of the basement where all the lower rooms 
as well as the upstairs connections may be reached 
with short pipes of about equal length. Remote 
rooms should have furnace connections much larger 
than their cubic contents would require if situated 
near the furnace, for the obvious reason that there 
is loss by radiation in going the greater distance 
and if several turns are required in the pipe the 
movement of the air column through the pipe is 
slower. 

In a paper read before the American Society of 
Heating and Ventilating Engineers at its summer 
meeting in Chicago, published in Domestic En- 
gineering August II, 1906, Mr. R. S. Thompson 



137 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



described his plan of making all pipe connections 
with the hood of the furnace at the top of the hood. 
He requires that the hood be made square instead of 
beveled and each connection is carried straight up 
to an elbow which brings the pipe within 3 inches 
of the ceiling. It is then carried horizontally to 
the register box or boot for the partition riser. The 
argument for this plan, which he carries out in all 
his work, is, that the 3 to 5 feet of perpendicular 
direction, added to that which the air already has 
as it leaves the sides and top of the furnace, gives 
the air an accelerated movement and prevents one 
pipe from robbing another, as often is the case in 
the old method of arrangement. 

Mr. Thompson also contends that the covering of 
furnace pipes with asbestos paper is futile in pre- 
venting radiation and loss of heat unless it is put 
on in several layers. He argues that a single layer 
radiates the heat more rapidly than the bright tin, 
which is smooth while the paper is rough and has 
a greater radiating surface. He advises half an 
inch. Double pipes with air space of three-quar- 
ters of an inch would be better. Mr. Thompson's 
allegation that the asbestos paper draws moisture 
and rusts the pipes during the part of the year 
when the furnace is unused is borne out by the ex- 
perience of others. 

138 



BRICK-SET FURNACE. 



Mr. Thompson's ideas and practice are contrary 
to tradition and the practice of nearly all engineers 
who aim to take the air from the furnace to the 
registers by the most direct routes. 

Expert advice on furnace setting is now generally 
against the brick-set furnace. It is a waste of heat 
to keep a great body of brick warm and impossible 
to avoid it when furnaces are thus encased, as brick 
are readily absorbent of heat. The furnace casing 
preferred is galvanized iron, lined with bright tin. 
Between the casing and the lining there should be 
an air space of three-quarters of an inch to an inch, 
regulated by a series of corrugated strips which 
will hold the two casings evenly apart. 

The properly set brick cased furnace makes a 
very neat-looking job but is of doubtful economy. 
It renders the furnace more difficult and expensive 
to get at when repairs shall be needed and takes 
up more room than the furnace with galvanized 
casing. When the brick casing is used there should 
be two walls, one enclosing the furnace direct, 
usually circular, surrounded with an air space and 
then the square wall for the finish. The cold air 
should be admitted at the top of the outer air-space 
so that it may take up any radiation from the inner 
brick wall. It will pass downward, thence through 
numerous spaces to be left in the bottom tiers of 
the inner wall, and up between the furnace and its 



139^ 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



casing to the warm-air flues. This arrangement 
permits only a minimum of radiation from the outer 
wall to the basement. 

The fresh air supply should be preferably from 
a cold-air room having two or three inlets from 
as many directions so as to get the benefit of chang- 
ing winds. These inlets should take the air from 
a point well above ground, particularly in low-lying 
localities, so as to get the best air available. Com- 
monly the cold-air duct is made of wood but gal- 
vanized iron is much to be preferred when the duct 
is above ground. A cold air inlet recommended by 
many authorities is built below the cellar bottom, 
consisting of a tile conduit or a brick-lined trench 
plastered with Portland cement. The opening for 
such a shaft should be provided for in the con- 
struction of the foundation wall. No wood should 
be used in the construction of such a duct, in order 
that there may be no decaying substances within it. 

Noteworthy improvements have been made in 
furnace fittings by which much better work than 
formerly is now secured. Instead of being made 
by tinners of indifferent skill the numerous fittings 
are now made with the aid of machinery according 
to fixed standards. All pipes and flues which pass 
near woodwork or combustible material of any sort 
should be double. The square tin flues to go be- 
tween partition walls are thus made in sections that 



140 



HOT AIR REGISTERS. 



fit accurately together the air spaces between the 
two walls of tin being half an inch wide and venti- 
lated so that no heat may be confined in them. 
These double pipes are to be preferred over the 
single pipes with wrappings of asbestos paper be- 
cause they are safer and have less radiation of heat 
than any other method of construction. 

All turns in warm air flues should be as gentle 
as possible to avoid rebounds of air or eddies in 
the current through the pipe. Abrupt bends need to 
be avoided in all fittings for the conveyance of warm 
air because the flow at best is not a swift one and 
any interruption of movement reduces the efficiency 
of the service. 

The registers for the final delivery of the heated 
air are to be had in a great variety of designs and 
many styles of finish. Nickel, bronze, white and 
black enamel are the commonest styles of finish. 
The register faces and borders are usually of cast 
iron, but for cheap gratings where strength is not 
a requisite, stampings of sheet metal having the ap- 
pearance of the cast iron registers are now avail- 
able. 

Modern practice now places the registers for 
warm air heating preferably in the baseboard. The 
floor register catches so much of the sweepings and 
is so continually collecting dirt that its use is dis- 
couraged. Wall registers with a narrow foot rest 



141 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



are made to supply one of the chief advantages of 
the floor register, namely that of conveniently 
warming the feet. Where carpets are used, partic- 
ularly on the upper floors it often has been neces- 
sary to cut around the registers. This necessity is 
obviated by placing the registers in the v^all. 

It is desirable to have provision made for the re- 
circulation of the house air through the furnace, 
as the supply of fresh air through the ventilating 
system of the furnace usually is in excess of the 
needs of the family. A large wall register in the 
front hall to supply a pipe three-fourths the size of 
the fresh-air duct w411 be found valuable in the 
coldest weather. The fresh air supply may then be 
cut down and the recirculation pipe opened wide. 
The plan will save fuel, increase comfort and leave 
sufiicient ventilation to keep the house sweet and 
agreeable. The construction of this duct should 
be such as to prevent air from outside flowing into 
the house through it instead of going through the 
furnace. 

Reference has been made in a former chapter to 
the plan of warm air distribution advocated by A. 
O. Jones, in Domestic Engineering, Sept. 15, 
1906, which appropriately may be repeated here in 
brief. Mr. Jones takes from the hood of the furnace 
only half the number of pipes that there are rooms to 
be heated, all of the pipes having double capacity. 



142 



IMPROVED REGISTERS. 



however. The first floor and second floor registers 
are placed directly over each other or nearly so, and 
open into the same flue, fed by the one large pipe. 
The lower register has a deflecting wing which 
may be made to take all the air from the flue or 
only a part of it, or may throw it all to the floor 
above as desired. Apparently the plan has many 
advantages, placing the product of the furnace un- 
der better control than the old plan. 



143 



Chapter X. 



VENTILATION. 

Quality of air. Amount of air required. Prepara- 
tion of air for breathing. Humidifying air. 
Drying air. Filtering air. Varied systems of 
ventilation. 

^ I ^O impart to the house in the coldest months 
of the year the deHghtful and invigorating 
freshness of a June day is one of the aims if not 
the actual achievement of good ventilation. If you 
enter such an atmosphere in midwinter you may 
suspect that back of it lies the intelligent applica- 
tion of the science of ventilation, together with that 
of filtering and humidifying the air before it is in- 
troduced into the building or apartment in which 
you become conscious of its presence and sweet- 
ness. 

Every building breathes more or less through 
ten thousand crannies. Many building materials 
are porous and more or less air passes through 
them. It is alleged that a candle can be blown 
out by a blast of air through a brick wall. The 
writer has never attempted to prove that such is 



144 



IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION 



the fact. Certain it is that the porosity of building 
materials and the usual inaccuracies of construc- 
tion are a protection to the health of those who 
have never given the subject of ventilation a 
thought and never intend to do so. 

But it is unwise to depend on the self-ventilation 
of any building. It is best to help nature and to 
teach our children to be conscious of and to ap- 
preciate the pleasure of fresh air in the lungs and 
sweet odors in the nostrils. It is true that people 
do live and thrive physically in close, poorly venti- 
lated rooms, but it is also true that tuberculosis and 
other deadly diseases thrive most generally in such 
cramped quarters. 

The importance of ventilation is proven by the 
mere fact that we breathe oxygen and discharge 
carbonic acid from the lungs. The purpose of 
ventilation is to keep up the abundant supply of 
oxygen in the atmosphere of the apartments which 
we occupy. The normal person breathes about 
one pint of air sixteen times a minute, which would 
be two gallons of air per minute. One pint of 
fresh air contains 15.8 ounces of nitrogen, 4.19 
ounces of oxygen and .008 ounces of carbonic acid. 
After breathing, this same volume contains the 
same proportion of nitrogen as before, but the oxy- 
gen has been reduced to 3.26 and the carbonic acid 
has increased to .94 ounce. Expired air also con- 



145 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



tains watery vapor with organic matter which we 
cannot fail to recognize by the odor when we en- 
ter a closely packed and poorly ventilated audience 
room where the meeting has been in session for an 
hour or so. 

From the figures given it will be noted that in 
order to keep up the proportion of oxygen in the 
air we breathe and keep down the excess of car- 
bonic acid to a point somewhere near the normal 
about lOO pints of fresh air should be admitted to 
the apartment for each breath of each person in 
the room. The amount would be about 12,000 
gallons per hour for each person. This would be 
equivalent to an inlet the size of a gallon measure 
in which the air current would move two feet per 
second, 120 feet per minute, or 7,000 feet per hour. 
Each gas jet or lamp should count as one person 
in these calculations, as all exposed lights burn 
oxygen. Small rooms increase the need of ventila- 
tion. Each person should have not less than 1,000 
cubic feet of space. The smaller the apartments 
the more abundant should be the ventilation. 

Excessive drowsiness in a closely-shut house on 
winter evenings is due to the excessive amount of 
carbonic acid in the atmosphere and the lack of 
oxygen. Good ventilation in houses where stoves 
are used would make asphyxiation by coal gas ex- 
tremely unlikely or impossible. Preachers have 

146 



MOIST AIR NEEDED. 



despaired of keeping certain members of their con- 
gregations awake when the sleepiness was due to 
lack of ventilation and not to anything soporific 
in the sermon. Extreme sleepiness in a crowded 
car is usually from the same cause. Sixty people 
in a car 8 feet wide, 8 feet high and 50 feet long 
would have only a little over 50 cubic feet of space 
for each. The air soon becomes surcharged with 
carbonic acid unless windows and ventilators ad- 
mit a constantly fresh supply. 

Another consideration urges itself upon us, fa- 
vorable to ventilation. Investigations to ascertain 
the number of microbes or living organisms in the 
air show that fresh air contains often less than one 
microbe per cubic litre (61 cubic inches). In a well 
ventilated room they range from i to 20 per cubic 
litre. In close school rooms 600 per cubic litre 
have been found. In well ventilated school rooms 
17 living organisms per cubic litre are found to be 
about the average. 

Not only is it desirable to have fresh air, but it 
should also have a certain amount of moisture to 
render it more agreeable. It also should be clean. 
Reference is made in a preceding chapter to the 
washing of the air by means of sprays to take out 
the soot and other floating particles for city build- 
ings. The spray also is used for adding moisture 
to the air. Nearly all hot air furnaces have basins 



147 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



or reservoirs in which water is to be kept, to be 
taken up by the warm air as it passes through the 
heating chamber. Usually this reservoir, to be 
effective, is in a wrong location. To accomplish 
the purpose of humidifying the air to an appre- 
ciable degree the water should be placed in reser- 
voirs in each hot air flue, so made as to hang below 
the interior wall of the flue, but with its water sur- 
face exposed to the action of the air. Some furnace 
pipes are constructed thus. 

A humidifying device has been produced which 
consists of a large pan of water in which steam 
pipes are fitted for the purpose of heating the water 
to the point of evaporation. The supply of steam 
to the coils is governed by a delicate instrument of 
the same order as the thermostat except that it is 
influenced by humidity instead of temperature. 

In measuring the humidity of the atmosphere 
the complete absence of water from the air is rated 
as o, and complete saturation as lOO. The point of 
saturation changes with temperature. The dryest 
climates known contain about 30 per cent of mois- 
ture. The most agreeable condition of the atmos- 
phere is when it contains about 70 per cent of mois- 
ture. The content of water in the form of vapor 
in the air at the freezing point is very slight, only 
.003 of a pound to one pound of air. At 150 de- 
grees the same amount of air will hold .22 of a 

148 



DRYING AND FILTERING AIR. 



pound, its capacity for taking up moisture having 
increased nearly 70 times above what it was at 32 
degrees. Extreme dryness in the air is objected to 
on account of the discomforts in resulting dryness 
of the throat and nostrils and a too rapid evapora- 
tion from the body. Air passing from a low tem- 
perature to a high one will change from a humidity 
of 70 per cent, outdoor measurement, to 30 per 
cent, indoor measurement. For the purpose of 
comfort the indoor humidity should be at least 50 
per cent. The air at 65 degrees will then be far 
more comfortable than 30 per cent moisture and 
70 degrees temperature. The provision for humidi- 
fying the air must be sufficient to produce a per- 
ceptible effect or it is not successful. In the ab- 
sence of scientific instruments and apparatus to 
keep the right balance the dryness or comfort of 
the throat and nostrils may be depended upon to 
indicate the absence or plenitude of moisture in the 
air of the house. 

When the atmosphere is too damp or humid for 
comfort a portion of the moisture may be removed 
by passing the air first through a cooling chamber, 
where the condensation will take place on the cool- 
ing pipes or surfaces, after which the temperature 
is restored in a warming chamber. 

The filtration of the fresh air supply also has 
been described in a previous chapter. The require- 



149 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



ments for a reasonably effective filtration are few 
and may be applied to the simplest heatirig and 
ventilating system. The interposition of cheese- 
cloth screens in the cold air duct v^ill catch a sur- 
prising quantity of floating particles, but for a 
thorough system of filtration a roomy chan-ber in 
the basement should be provided. Here, with 
plenty of room, screens of finer mesh may be used 
and may be so arranged as to be cleaned and re- 
placed frequently. The improved cleanliness 
throughout the house will well repay all efforts 
to install an effective filtering equipment. It is the 
ounce of prevention that will save many pounds of 
hard work, which seems to be th.e only cure for 
dirt. 

Several systems of fan ventilation have been de- 
vised and are operated with varying degrees of 
success. Such systems of power ventilation are in 
operation in large office buildings, hospitals, schools, 
public buildings, factories, theaters, apartment 
buildings and other edifices in which natural draft 
ventilation would be ineffective. In the congested 
parts of a city, where high buildings stand close 
together, especially is ventilation by powerful fans 
a necessity. 

The system most used is that by which the air 
is forced into each apartment. This is best known 
as the plenum system, the definition of the word 



150 



WARM AIR SYSTEMS. 



fully signifying the method of operation. The sup- 
ply of fresh air is made so abundant that all leak- 
ages of air are from the room outward. Outflow 
conduits are provided, of smaller capacity than 
the fresh air inlets, the difference supplying the in- 
evitable leakage of the room around doors and 
windows. 

In the exhaust or vacuum system the ventilating 
apparatus is so placed as to draw the air from the 
room, being the exact reverse of the plenum sys- 
tem. This is used in large office and other build- 
ings to some extent. The air is drawn out through 
baseboard registers or ventilating plates, on the 
theory that the foul air of the room, carrying the 
carbonic acid from respiration, lies at the floor. 
The fresh air supply must be so abundant under 
this system that there may be little inducement for 
inward leakages of air from other than outdoor 
sources. It is inevitable, however, that there shall 
be a considerable inflow of air through other chan- 
nels than the fresh air duct and in winter this may 
lead to considerable discomfort to the occupants 
of the apartment. In the opinion of authorities 
upon ventilation the exhaust system has no advan- 
tages over the plenum or forcing system, but on 
the contrary has the disadvantages noted. 

A third system combines the plenum and the 
exhaust principles. One set of fans drives the air 



151 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



to the apartments and another set draws it away. 
This is objected to because of the extra and un- 
necessary expense. If the air is forced in it will 
find its way out, and ordinarily it matters not 
whither it goes. 

Authorities, therefore, generally agree that the 
plenum system of ventilation, under conditions 
where fans are required, is the most practical and 
effective. The delivery of fresh air to the apart- 
ments is made certain and there is no chance for 
the admixture of air already vitiated from other 
sources. Only one fan or one set of fans is re- 
quired, and the system is as simple as may be made 
to secure the results demanded. 

In winter the ventilation is combined with the 
heating system. The fresh air is drawn or driven 
over the heated coils or other heat radiating sur- 
faces and passes into the main conduits for deliv- 
ery in the remote apartments. Here is where the 
ventilating engineer is confronted with the most 
serious problems. The effective distribution of 
heated air through pressure conduits demands the 
cleverest of planning. The writer recalls the al- 
most complete failure of a system of heating and 
ventilation under the plenum system installed as 
late as 1903 at a cost of many thousands of dol- 
lars. The system was designed to heat and venti- 
late a group of university buildings and the money 



152 



CAUSE OF FAILURE. 



available was abundant for the purpose. The fail- 
ure was therefore the more ignominious. Exten- 
sive remodeling of the system became immediately 
necessary. 

The fault of the system lay in the fact that the 
attempt was made to distribute from the main con- 
duit, through valve registers, the amount of air 
required for each room. The result of this plan 
was that when the supply registers for the rooms 
nearest the fan were opened the rooms were im- 
mediately flooded with air at a stifling temperature, 
while the distant rooms intended to be supplied by 
the same conduit received no warm air at all. The 
resistance of the conduit and radiation from it had 
not been calculated. The air was driven into the 
conduit by a powerful fan and so great was the 
pressure upon the registers nearest the source of 
supply that upon the milder days of winter the 
leakage of the registers when closed was so great 
that windows had to be opened to reduce the un- 
comfortable temperature produced by such leak- 
age. The principle was not unlike that of attempt- 
ing to pump water to a certain altitude through a 
pipe containing small holes a foot apart. The 
higher the column of water the swifter the flow 
from the lower holes, due to the resistance of 
gravitation. The resistance of distance against 
the air in the heating and ventilating conduit, and 



153 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



the numerous places of escape throughout its length 
left but a feeble pressure at the remote apartments 
which the ventilating engineer had intended should 
have equal service with all the others. 

This failure proved, as others also have forcibly 
demonstrated, that the currents of air from the 
fan must be divided near the fan and conducted 
separately to the rooms to be heated and venti- 
lated. The delivery registers in the different rooms 
must be equi-distant from the fan if they are to be 
supplied from the same main conduit, or the 
branches from the conduit must be of equal length 
and equal resistance if the rooms are to be evenly 
heated. This principle applies to all systems of 
ventilation and of combined heating and ventila- 
tion. The colum.ns of air must be apportioned and 
divided at the point where they receive their posi- 
tive impulse and after leaving that point, if di- 
vided at all, the branches must be of balanced re- 
sistance, so that the resistance of one or more 
branches shall not drive the principal flow into the 
other or others. The problem requires a nicety of 
calculation that can be left only to the most skilled 
to work out. On any installation it perhaps would 
be wise to construct a model to scale and apply 
the air, measuring the resistance or force at each 
opening. A system cannot be regarded a success 
until adequate pressure is shown at all points of 



154 



PLENUM SYSTEM. 



delivery, the requirement of each room being regu- 
lated by the size of the pipe or branch. 

To overcome the uncertainties and irregularities 
of the delivery of air from a main conduit a plenum 
chamber has been used. This should be of such 
ample proportions that the pressure may adjust 
itself to all parts of the room. Into this room the 
air is poured from the fan and from it the pipes 
lead off to various parts of the building to be ven- 
tilated. The size and distance of each room from 
the plenum chamber will control the sizes of pipes 
to be used. It is necessary to calculate resistances 
from a chamber as from a fan. 

If it is desired to use the air of ventilation for 
heating the building the coils may be placed in this 
chamber. If direct radiation is used the air in the 
chamber may be tempered so that it may not enter 
any apartment with chilling effect. 

In planning a system of warm air heating and 
ventilation for a private dwelling, where the move- 
ment of the air depends wholly upon the heat of 
the furnace and the exhaustion of the air in the 
rooms by the ventilating ducts warmed by partition 
walls or by an air shaft warmed by the main chim- 
ney, it should be borne in mind that resistance, as 
far as possible, should be elimniated. All flat sur- 
faces presented at opposing angles to the course 
of the air currents are obstructions to be avoided. 



155 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



Possible eddies should be guarded against in all 
construction. From the time the air enters the 
screen or passes the filtering chamber, if there be 
one, it should have a smooth course, devoid of ob- 
stacles of any sort. Every turn should be an easy 
one — never abrupt. If it be possible to have each 
turn the perfect arc of a circle more than twice the 
diameter of the pipe a distinct advantage will be 
gained. 

When we consider that the movement of the air 
in such a system at best is but a feeble motion in 
comparison with what is expected of it, we begin 
to realize the importance of having these clear 
passage-ways for its course of travel. In most hot 
air furnace installations we find the cold air duct 
a series of right angle turns with pockets and ed- 
dies at several points. How much better it would 
be to have all these square corners, whether in- 
terior or exterior angles, so rounded as to shunt 
the air current gently in the way it should go ! 
It would help the up-draft of air around the fur- 
nace very perceptibly. These are minor details, to 
be sure ! But they are all minor details throughout 
the system, and it is the attention or non-attention 
to such minor details that spells success or failure 
in the installation. 

Then comes the space around the furnaces with- 
in the casing. The radiation from the furnace ex- 



156 



A SUGGESTION. 



pands the air with heat, giving it a buoyancy that 
sends it upward with a rush, only to bump against 
the bonnet or hood of the furnace. All the force 
of that splendid up-rush is lost in the rebound 
against the top of the furnace. 

If you have ever seen a pack of hounds in hot 
pursuit of the quarry come to a stone wall that is 
too high to scale and there lose the scent of the fox, 
you have seen a disorganized mass of animals run- 
ning in all directions trying again to get their 
bearings. 

The volume of hot air in the bonnet of the fur- 
nace, as usually made, may be compared to the 
pack of hounds which has come to a full stop. 
The air in the furnace now has to take a new 
start, slowly at first, and it goes on by the routes 
of least resistance to the places of escape. This 
may explain to many why it is so difficult to heat 
distant rooms with a hot air furnace. Clearly the 
rules of ventilation and of the movement of air 
currents have not been observed in the work of 
installation. 

There has been suggested a furnace top which 
may be called the "anti-rebound hood," which takes 
full advantage of the buoyancy of the air as it 
passes the furnace. This hood is so constructed 
that no flat or angular surfaces whatever are pre- 
sented to the upward moving air. The whole top 



157 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



of the furnace is a mass of assembled flues. The 
division of the air current is made at the point of 
its greatest impulse and when each column of 
rising air is well started in its particular flue it is 
led off by a gently rounding elbow in a horizontal 
pipe near the ceiling to the particular register or 
partition flue for which it may be intended. 

Engineers who design apparatus for forced ven- 
tilation are careful that no obstacles shall be placed 
in the way of the current after leaving the fan. All 
flat surfaces that may retard the air movement are 
eliminated. How much more important, then, is it 
to take the same precaution where the source of 
impulse is the furnace instead of the fan! 

The top of the average furnace — indeed, we may 
say of nearly all furnaces — is a complete though 
temporary check upon the movement of the air 
through the furnace chamber. The hood with con- 
cave or hanging cone top is a step in the right di- 
rection, but not by any means accomplishing all 
that needs to be accomplished. 

In the construction of boots, elbows, off-sets and 
all fixtures for the conveyance of air currents, the 
laws to which attention has been called should be 
observed if the full measure of success is to be at- 
tained. The four-piece elbow is to be preferred 
to the three-piece because it more nearly fulfills 
the requirements of the natural law of the flow of 



158 



AIR DELIVERY LOCATIONS. 



currents, whether of Hquids or gases. The laws 
are shnple enough. It is merely necessary to have 
them in mind and to comply with them at all stages 
of construction and installation. 

Where it is desirable to have power or fan venti- 
lation in a private dwelling the fan may be intro- 
duced either in the cold air duct or in a chamber 
from which it may draw the hot air from the fur- 
nace or from the heated coils or radiators. Prefer- 
ably the fan should take its air supply from such a 
chamber, so that the division or apportionment of 
the air to the several conduits may be made at the 
fan. This will simplify the problem of successful 
distribution. The entrances to the several conduits 
and at all Y's may be equipped with movable par- 
titions, which may be adjusted by test so as to 
equalize the distribution of the air and thereby cor- 
rect any miscalculations of original planning. 

The delivery of the air into an apartment is 
usually made at the baseboard or from a floor reg- 
ister. Some theorists have advocated its introduc- 
tion at the ceiling or at a point about eight feet 
from the floor. In some cases this has been done. 
It is very disagreeable to most persons to sit 
where there is a down-draft of air upon the 
head. There are always drafts upon the floor and 
our feet seem to have become inured to them. 
Besides, there cannot be any valid objection to the 



159 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



introduction of fresh air or heated air at the base- 
board. When heated, air will rise to the upper 
part of the room of its own buoyancy and mingle 
with the air of the room. If the foul air is drawn 
off through ventilating plates and flues in the base- 
board on the same side of the room as the fresh 
air inlet, the air will make a more complete circuit 
of the room than if admitted at the ceiling. Prefer- 
ably the fresh air should be admitted to a room 
from the side opposite the windows. In cold 
weather this arrangement directs the inflow of warm 
air toward the windows, which are the coldest ex- 
posed surfaces, and the warm air tends to coun- 
teract their cooling influence. The down-draft at 
the windows promotes circulation and the currents 
of air naturally are directed toward the foul air 
outlets. No registers should be placed in the floor, 
on account of their filth-gathering tendencies. 

Where direct radiation is used, with steam or 
hot water radiators, an effective method of venti- 
lation is to use the flue radiators with boxes at the 
bottom through which fresh air is admitted di- 
rectly from out of doors to the bottoms of the 
flues. This necessitates many outdoor openings, 
which need to be well protected with filtering 
screens, or much soot and dust will enter the 
house. 



1 60 



Chapter XI. 



TEMPERATURE CONTROL. 

Various systems employed. Results to be obtained 
must provide comfort, safety and fuel economy. 

TF there were no other considerations, the 
economy of fuel alone would justify the ex- 
pense of installing a system for temperature regula- 
tion in the home. It is the experience of nearly all 
householders who are not living up to their oppor- 
tunities that the temperature of the house is about 
as uncertain as the weather. It varies from 40 or 
50 to 85 or even 90 degrees. Some people have a 
faculty of adjusting the dampers and fixing the 
fire so that the furnace will run at an approximate 
temperature for several hours, but a sudden change 
of the outside temperature or a high wind may de- 
feat the plans of the most careful furnace attend- 
ant. 

But why trust to the human attention at all, other 
than to put on fuel and remove the ashes? Why 
not live up to these opportunities which the in- 
ventors have laid before us? The complete house 
must have all these things that save labor and 

161 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



brighten the Hves of those who live within its walls. 
The arguments in favor of temperature control are 
many besides that always practical one of saving 
expense. It saves labor, care, time, trouble. It 
provides real luxury at small cost. 

The specific things that a successful system of 
temperature control accomplishes are : A saving 
of 15 to 25 per cent in the ordinary fuel expense. 
Such a saving will soon pay for the system and 
we may have all the other advantages for nothing. 
Beyond the removal of ashes and the supplying of 
fuel at stated periods, the heating plant becomes 
automatic in its operation. Skill of management 
no longer is a necessity. Skill has given place to 
an automaton w^hich acts in accord with physical 
laws and cannot act otherwise. Its operation be- 
comes as fixed, so far as movements are concerned, 
as the motion of the stars. The comfort to be de- 
rived from a uniform temperature in the house is 
not to be undervalued. Its influence upon the 
health of the family cannot be otherwise than fa- 
vorable to its best preservation. There is comfort 
of mind, too, in knowing that the furnace is all 
right and does not need watching. If the heating 
plant contains a steam boiler or water heater the 
appliances for automatic temperature control pre- 
vent the pressure going beyond desired limits or 
falling belov*^ the necessities of the weather. 

162 



EARLY ATTEMPTS. 



The warming of the house in the morning is 
always a problem necessitating the early rising of 
someone to open the drafts and warm the rooms 
for the comfort of others. The instruments for 
temperature control remain on duty all night, as 
well as all day, and will have the house at the de- 
sired temperature when morning comes. Half the 
discomforts of the northern climate in winter are 
due to the poor and unsuccessful systems of heat- 
ing the houses, an evil which the systems of tem- 
perature regulation ultimately in a measure will 
correct, when their application is better under- 
stood. 

The first efforts toward producing a system of 
temperature control were made many years ago. 
They were crude and inaccurate at first, just as all 
valuable inventions have been, but practice has 
perfected them and range in temperature has been 
narrowed down to a very few degrees. We are 
assured by some manufacturers of these appliances 
that by their use the temperature may be kept 
within a range of 2 or 3 degrees. Such perfection 
is not a mere approach to the ideal, but a full 
realization of it. One enthusiast has said that such 
an achievement is the equivalent of bringing the 
air of Florida or of California into the house for 
winter use. It gives the invalid the unchanging 
temperature that is often sought by days of travel 



163 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



at great expense and numberless discomforts. The 
temperature regulator also has been likened to the 
governor of a steam engine. Without the governor 
the engine would run fast or slow, according to its 
load, and when all load was removed would per- 
haps tear itself to pieces by ''racing." So the fur- 
nace without such control races to one extreme, 
and when the checks are applied goes to the other 
extreme. 

Several types of appliances for temperature con- 
trol are now manufactured. These are designed 
for steam, hot water and warm air heating and to 
control ventilator inlets. The aim with steam 
plants is to maintain an exact pressure, this pres- 
sure extending to all radiators. The method of 
control is by means of pressure valves or dia- 
phragms which act upon the dampers that control 
the fire. An increasing pressure shuts the dampers 
and a reduction of steam pressure opens them to 
give the fire a little more oxygen and a little more 
circulation in the chimney flue. 

In some of the instruments a rubber diaphragm 
is used. This is placed below the water line, where 
a slight change of pressure acting upon the dia- 
phragm moves a lever or series of levers which 
act upon a carefully adjusted system of dampers 
which maintain the fire at the right degree of ac- 
tivity to keep up the pressure. If the weather be- 

164 



VARIATIONS IN CONTROL. 



comes colder the radiation from the radiators takes 
place faster and the return flow of water from 
condensation demands more fire. Other instru- 
ments employ the metal diaphragm, which may be 
attached to the steam chamber or upper part of 
the boiler. The action is essentially the same as 
those below the water line using rubber. The 
principle is the same in all, the value of the differ- 
ent makes depending upon the measure of success 
in applying the principle. 

Where steam or hot water radiators are used 
the temperature regulator may be installed in a 
single room to control the temperature of that 
room alone. It may be applied also to control the 
inlet of warm air from a furnace whenever there 
is a likelihood of overheating a single apartment 
or suite of rooms. When the steam or water for 
heating is derived from a central heating station 
the regulator becomes invaluable, restricting the 
flow to the actual needs of the house or room. 
Where thus used the mechanism acts upon the 
valves, regulating the flow either to a single radi- 
ator or to a whole system. 

In one of the well known thermostats the actuat- 
ing material is a liquid which boils at 55 degrees. 
This is confined in a disk-like compartment. With 
an increase of temperature the pressure of the 
liquid in the disk increases. At 70 degrees, the 



165 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



temperature best suited for the house, it has quite 
an appreciable pressure, which is lessened or in- 
creased with the falling or rising of the tempera- 
ture. The very slight movement either way is 
made to open or close very small air valves, which 
admit or release air under pressure to a diaphragm 
motor in the basement. A lever attached to the 
diaphragm acts upon the nicely balanced dampers 
of the furnace and air inlets, to open or close them 
ever so slightly as the sensitive instrument dic- 
tates. 

Another form uses vulcanized rubber as the ther- 
mostatic element. This consists of a tube suf- 
ficiently large to contain the mechanism necessary 
to open and close valves which admit or release air 
under pressure to a diaphragm motor, the latter 
acting upon the dampers. The changes of tem- 
perature lengthen or shorten the vulcanized rubber 
tube and this movement, very slight indeed, serves 
to move the delicate mechanism within the tube. 

A third form makes use of the unequal expan- 
sive qualities of different metals under changes of 
temperature. Strips of brass and steel soldered to- 
gether constitute the usual combination for this 
purpose. One metal being influenced more than 
the other by the rise and fall of temperature will 
cause the combined strips to bend one way or the 
other as the changes of temperature take place. 

i66 



VARIOUS METHODS OF CONTROL. 



Advantage is taken of this slight movement to 
open and close very small air valves which govern 
the supply of compressed air to the diaphragm mo- 
tors employed to operate the dampers of the heating 
system. 

In place of the compressed air a clockwork 
mechanism, to be wound up once a week, is used 
in some systems. In other systems the electrical 
force plays a part in the adjustment of dampers. 
In others the pressure of water is used. Indeed, a 
vast amount of study has been expended and much 
ingenuity developed in devising appliances for the 
control of temperature in apartments and buildings 
for all sorts of purposes. 

To have successful control of temperature, how- 
ever, it is needful that the system of heating shall 
be adequate and well balanced. The appliances 
for temperature control will not bring order out 
of chaos when the chaos consists of a badly appor- 
tioned distribution of the heat. If one apartment 
is at 50 when others are at 70 degrees, the dispro- 
portion will continue, thermostat or no thermostat. 
The supply of heat must be adjusted evenly before 
the best results can be secured. The hot air pipes 
and radiators must be of correct sizes to meet the 
approximate requirements of each room. When 
the heating system is well balanced and efficient 
then the maintenance of an even temperature 

167 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



throughout the house hecomes a comparatively 
simple problem. 

Temperature control is not limited to the atmos- 
phere of the room, but extends to the temperature 
of the hot water storage tank. It frequently hap- 
pens that persons are seriously scalded by having 
the water supply for the bath too hot. It is also 
disagreeable to have the water turn to vapor on 
opening the faucet, filling the apartment with a 
cloud of moisture. The same devices for con- 
trolling the temperature are used here as else- 
where, being varied only in their form to adapt 
them to the particular service required. 



168 



Chapter XII. 



COLD WATER SUPPLY. 

Connections zvifh city mam, yard hydrants and street 
zvashers. Setting of meters. Stop and zvaste 
cocks. Filtering. Storage of water. Water 
lifts. Cistern zvater supply. Air compressed 
zjuatcr snpply. Domestic zvater zvorks service 
for detached homes. Rams. Pumps. Wind- 
mills and tozvers. Plumbing brass goods, laun- 
dry tray bibbs, kitchen sink bibbs; basin cocks; 
ball cocks. 

TN cities generally the connections with the pub- 
lic water supply for domestic use are regulated 
by ordinance. The connection is made at the main 
with a gooseneck of lead pipe, which supplies the 
needed flexibility at that point. Changes due to 
contraction, expansion and settling of pipes makes 
this flexible connection desirable, if not absolutely 
necessary. It might be accomplished in other 
ways, as by swing joints, but the lead pipe is the 
simpler and preferred method employed. On ac- 
count of the heavy pressure usual in water mains 
the connection ordinarily is not larger than a half 

169 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



or three-quarter-inch pipe for a house of two or 
three stories. Larger dweUings, tenements and 
apartment houses have street service connections 
from one to two inches. 

At the curb Hne a stop-and-waste cock should 
be provided. The city ordinance usually requires 
this in order that the water supply may be com- 
pletely shut off from any building or grounds. 
The location of this should not be lost sight of, as 
an accident at any time may make the immediate 
shutting ofif of the water very important. Some- 
times the protecting boxes over the valve key be- 
come covered up in the work of grading and are 
not again thought of. 

Sometimes outdoor hydrants are necessary. 
These should, of course, be of the non-freezing 
type, with provision for quickly wasting the water 
that is left in the pipe above the shut-off. Such 
hydrants are available in very ornamental styles, 
made to be turned vnth a special wrench, with com- 
pression cock or by an attached hand-wheel. Some- 
times they are automatic, turning on the water 
when the pail is hung on the spout. 

Street washers at grade have been much used in 
the past, but some people substitute the sill-cock 
with stop-and-waste cock in the basement. Where 
street washers are used they need a protective 
box and waste opening below frost line. Conven- 



170 



LOCATION OF WATER METER. 



ience of location should have attention when 
placing street washers, hydrants, lawn sprinkler 
connections and sill-cocks, the aim being to have 
them so placed that the least amount of hose shall 
be required to reach the farthest part of the 
grounds. On large grounds several hose connec- 
tions may be required, when the same attention to 
location may save both labor and extra hose. 

Where the measurement of water supply is de- 
sired the proper location for the meter is within 
the wall of the cellar or basement inside the base- 
ment stop-and-waste cock. It is important that the 
meter shall be accurate and if any doubt exists it 
may be tested by running w^ater through it at 
various speeds, carefully weighing the water and 
comparing the result with the record shown by the 
dials of the meter. Any inaccuracy will in this 
manner be detected. Meters are made in sizes 
from those using a three-eighths-inch pipe up to 
six inches. A meter made for a one-inch pipe will 
deliver approximately sixty gallons of water per 
minute. The stop-and-waste cock at the meter, as 
well as those elsewhere, should be strong, prefer- 
ably with handle attached, and so made that it will 
not corrode or stick when finally it may be neces- 
sary to shut off the water. The practice of sinking 
the stop-and-waste cock in a small box in the 
ground below the cellar bottom seems now to be 



171 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



generally abandoned. It is rendered more access- 
ible and is much less likely to get out of order when 
above ground. 

The filtering of the water supply is always de- 
sirable if for no other purpose than to have it clean 
or to have the sense of cleanliness when using it. 
In many cities and towns the sources of public 
water supply, even with many precautions on the 
part of boards of health and boards of inspection, 
are not above suspicion. If any doubt exists the 
water for drinking purposes should be boiled. This 
puts the user on the safe side at least, with very 
little trouble. Water may be reaerated after boil- 
ing by shaking in a large bottle partly filled. This 
removes the flat taste objected to in cold boiled 
water. Often the filtering is sufficient. 

Many styles of filters are on the market. A 
filter, to be effective, should be able to take the 
silt-laden waters of the Mississippi and Missouri 
or the roiliest flood waters anywhere and deliver 
them with a crystal clearness. The most effective 
filtering substance in general use for house filters 
is tripoli stone. This is made into cylinders with 
thick walls and the cylinder is so arranged as to 
receive the water on its outer surface and discharge 
through the central bore. Even in the small sizes 
this arrangement gives a filtering wall nearly an 
inch through. Such a filter ten inches long and 



72 



WATER FILTERS. 



three inches in diameter when clean will deliver 
nearly or quite a gallon of water a minute. It 
easily meets the needs of an ordinary family 
unless the service is so muddy as to require all the 
water for the house to be filtered. In such cases 
large filters must be installed in the basement. 

Tripoli stone filters should be so constructed 
that the stones may be lifted out frequently to be 
sponged or brushed free of silt and then rubbed 
with flour of tripoli, ground very fine. This fills 
the minute cavities in the outer surface of the cylin- 
der and maintains the free porosity of the filter 
much longer than if no powder is used. It may 
sometimes become necessary to scour the filter stone 
with soft brick or a piece of tripoli to remove any 
deeply imbedded impurities, but under ordinary 
conditions a sponging and powdering are sufficient. 
With such care a filter stone will last several years. 

Where cistern water is used for drinking and 
cooking a partition of brick is made in the cistern. 
The construction of the wall is such that the water 
can pass from one chamber to the other only by 
percolating through the brick. This gives very 
clear and palatable water of unquestioned purity, 
provided that the roofs are cared for and flushed 
before the supply is turned into the cistern. When 
the water from small streams is used for domestic 
supply great care should be taken to see that there 



173 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 

is no pollution above the diverting channel. This 
water may be filtered by running it through layers 
of charcoal, alternating with sand that has been 
washed clean, to the storage cistern or reservoir. 
Such filters are used in irrigated regions, where 
the ditch waters are diverted to underground reser- 
voirs for domestic supply. 

A rather more elaborate filter is made by the 
construction of two water-tight brick chambers side 
by side with a sloping bottom extending under both 
chambers, which are connected at the bottom of 
the dividing w^all. A strong mixture of cement 
should be used in the work to make it permanent. 
The inlet from the roof spouts or from the di- 
verted stream enters the deeper of the two cham- 
bers, which serves the purpose of arresting the silt. 
The second chamber has a perforated bottom raised 
above the sloping floor of the chamber. On this 
false bottom is spread a layer of clean gravel and 
then the whole is filled with clean sand to the level 
of the discharge pipe leading to the storage cistern 
or reservoir. As the filtering gravel and sand re- 
ceives the water from below, the silt is deposited 
on the sloping bottom and gathers naturally in the 
deepest part of the receiving chamber, from which 
it easily may be removed without in any way dis- 
turbing the filter. 

174 



THE STORAGE TANK. 



Often it is necessary, in parts of the city or town 
that are higher than the general level, to take ad- 
vantage of those hours of the day when the water 
pressure is best to store water for the day's use. 
When the pressure is such that it cannot be de- 
pended on at all times, arrangements should be 
made for water storage. The capacity of the tank 
should be sufficient for two days' supply, counting 
thirty gallons a day for each person in the family. 
The storage tank should be a few feet above the 
highest fixture and should have an overflow and 
ventilating pipe, both carefully screened against the 
ingress of birds or vermin of any sort. It should 
be where it will not freeze and where it may be 
examined and cleaned. Storage tanks for the sup- 
ply of drinking water must not be lined with lead 
or sheet zinc. 

In some parts of the country the public water 
supply, either on account of hardness or impurity, 
is unfit for all domestic uses. An auxiliary supply 
from a cistern then becomes desirable and auto- 
matic water lifts are introduced in the house for 
the purpose of supplying cistern water under pres- 
sure where wanted. The pressure of the public 
water system is then used to operate the lifts, on 
the principle of the steam pump. The location of 
the cistern should be such that it may be guarded 
against the admission of any contamination to its 



175 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



contents. It should have ventilation and should be 
accessible for cleaning. It also should be carefully 
screened at the ventilators. In order that the best 
water of the cistern always may be available for 
use a float has been devised, which always sus- 
pends the intake pipe a few inches below the sur- 
face. By this contrivance the suction of sediment 
into the pump is rendered impossible, unless the 
water becomes very low. 

The successful and economical supply of water 
under pressure to detached houses anywhere in the 
country where wind and water are available, has 
made possible the introduction of all the conven- 
iences and luxuries of a city home that depends on 
water supply. The farm house may now have a 
bath room and syphon water closet with hot and 
cold water, lavatories, laundry tubs and kitchen 
sinks with hot and cold water supplies almost as 
cheaply as the city home. It is no longer necessary 
to build a wooden or steel tank high in the air 
and undergo all the troubles and inconveniences 
resulting from its freezing. A better way has been 
found in sinking an air-tight steel tank under- 
ground and pumping the water into it against the 
air so that the air pressure will expel it when a 
faucet is opened anywhere in the system. 

The best location for such a tank is where the 
head may appear in the cellar wall. Here the con- 



176 



LOCATION OF TANK. 



nections may be made and the glass water gauge 
may be examined. It is also a cool location, espe- 
cially desirable in summer, as the water in an ex- 
posed tank is apt to become too warm for drinking 
without ice. The supply to the tank may be 
pumped in with a windmill or it may be flowed in 
by gravity through a very small and inexpensive 
pipe laid below the freezing depth, from great dis- 
tances. A storage tank greatly reduces the cost 
of a pipe line where water is brought or pumped 
great distances, because, with storage, a small pipe 
having a continuous flow will supply a large amount 
of water. A three-eights-inch pipe, for example, 
will discharge under pressure one cubic foot or 
seven and a half gallons per minute. When small 
pipes are used particular care should be taken to 
have all pipe ends reamed before joints are made, 
and the intake should be carefully screened to pre- 
vent any stoppage of flow. A small spring may 
be made to do excellent service by this plan. Wind- 
mill pumps are made to maintain automatically the 
required air pressure in the storage tank. 

Often a stream whose water may be unfit for 
domestic use may be made to pump water from a 
well or cistern. This can be done by the use of a 
water lift, such as used under city pressure to 
pump cistern water when the city supply is not 
suitable for all domestic purposes. 



177 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



Still another plan of supplying water under pres- 
sure to an isolated dwelling is to sink an air-tight 
tank in a well, cistern or lake, with a pipe connec- 
tion to the house system and an inlet valve. The 
tank must be sufficiently weighted to hold it firmly 
in place even when filled with air. From the top 
of the tank an air pipe should lead to an air pump 
conveniently placed. The pipe to the house system 
should connect with the bottom of the tank. By 
opening an air cock at the air pump the water will 
flow by gravity through the inlet valve, expelling 
the air until the tank is filled. Then the air pres- 
sure may be applied, by hand or power, creating 
sufficient pressure to force the water through the 
house system until the tank is again emptied. 
There should also be a back stop valve in the house 
system to prevent the back flow of the water when 
the tank is empty and the air pressure is off. 

When the suburban or rural source of supply 
is abundant and the altitude is not great enough 
to deliver the water under pressure to all parts of 
a dwelling, a water ram may be used. A three- 
foot fall may be made thus to deliver one-four- 
teenth of the volume of water to ten times (thirty 
feet) the height of the fall. If the supply is lim- 
ited a storage tank may be used in connection with 
the ram. 



178 



WIND POWER. 



In semi-arid regions the windmill and gasoline 
engine have made water supplies available from 
great depths. There are few places where water 
cannot be obtained at some point below the sur- 
face. Rams are now made to raise water in quan- 
tity for the purposes of irrigation, so that there 
is practically no limit to the size and power of these 
appliances. 

The construction of windmills by different manu- 
facturers is now along well established lines. Ex- 
periments with a cone-shaped wheel seem to have 
shown such construction to have superior efficiency. 
The sloping of the paddles or sails from the center 
toward the periphery, in addition to the usual 
slope, apparently securing greater results from the 
force of the wind. The secret apparently is in the 
reduction of back-pressure, the wheel having a 
wider scope of discharge. The towers and mills 
are generally galvanized to prevent rusting and to 
insure durability. The transmission mechanism 
should be as simple as possible consistent with ef- 
ficiency, so as to require the least attention. 

When it is necessary to have the windmills sit- 
uated on distant knolls or exposed places far from 
the water supply the mill may be used with an air 
compressor, now available in the market, made for 
this specific use. Connection is made through a 
small pipe with a pump operated by air pressure at 



179 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



the most convenient point and the water delivered 
under pressure to the house system or wherever 
wanted. In this use the storage tank is particu- 
larly desirable in order that water may be available 
at all times. 

The cold-water piping of the house usually con- 
sists of three-quarters to one-inch galvanized iron 
pipes. The water fixtures should be of the best. 
Nearly all these are of cast brass, nickel-plated. 
One indication of quality is weight. Brass is a 
costly metal and if the manufacturer has put in 
plenty of metal the goods may generally be de- 
pended upon as being good in other respects. All 
valves should be of the compression type, screw- 
ing down firmly to the valve-seat. Such valves 
should govern all lines of supply. The compres- 
sion bibb or faucet is sometimes used, but the 
type most favored and therefore most employed in 
house plumbing is the Fuller bibb, by which the 
water is shut off by the compression of a rubber 
ball. These always have a handle and rarely get 
out of order. They are suited alike for the kitchen, 
laundry and bathroom. Where the water is meas- 
ured and it is the desire to have as little consumed 
as necessity may require, a self-closing cock is 
used. It is not convenient for general use, as it 
must be held open all the time that the water is 
flowing. 

1 80 



WASTING WATER 



WASTING WATER 

Where water is sold through a meter, landlords 
are wise enough to have self-closing faucets on all 
bathroom fixtures especially. The practice of wash- 
ing the hands with running water causes a greater 
waste than if the water was caught in the bowl for 
use. This is not the case where the hands are 
only to be rinsed or damped. A faucet may leak 
slightly but yet waste a large amount in thq 
twenty-four hours. One was leaking at a rate of 
over sixty drops a minute and it was found to fill 
a pint measure in ten minutes, or three-fourths 
gallon per hour, or eighteen gallons a day. 

Most important, perhaps, is the quality of the 
ball-cock, the automatic device which refills the 
water closet flush tank. Unless this is well made 
and operates perfectly it may cause much trouble. 
The weight of the ball at the end of the rod turns 
on the water when the flush tank is emptied and the 
buoyancy of the ball, acting as a float, shuts it off 
when the water reaches a certain height. This 
may not be examined from one year's end to an- 
other and its failure to operate may cause an over- 
flow. A flood is guarded against in well con- 
structed tanks by an overflow device. The con- 
tinuous running of the water through the flush pipe 

i8i 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



is a warning that the ball cock needs attention, as 
it has not shut off the water completely, or that the 
discharge valve of the tank does not sit squarely in 
its seat. 



182 



Chapter XIIL 



HOT WATER SUPPLY. 

Heating zimter and storing it. Range boiler heaters. 
Automatic zmter heating systems. Tank heaters. 
Garbage burners and zvater heaters combined. 
Instantaneous zvater heaters. Hot zvater tem- 
perature control. 

^ I ^HE ordinary requirements of hot water for 
domestic use are met by the range boiler in 
the kitchen. This usually is heated by a water front 
or water back in the fire box of the range and some- 
times by a pipe coil similarly placed. There are 
many variations from this general practice to meet 
different requirements and different conditions, to 
which attention will be given. 

The range boiler may be of copper, black iron, 
galvanized iron or steel. A boiler of superior 
quality is made of heavy gauge tin-lined copper. 
Copper boilers need to be well braced inside to pre- 
vent collapse under the partial vacuum which some- 
times occurs in range boilers. 

The black iron boiler, when painted to correspond 
with the walls or woodwork of the kitchen is not 



183 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



an obtrusive object and has the merit of giving 
good service. The objection is the rusting of the 
interior and discoloration of the water. The gal- 
vanized wrought-iron boiler, which for a number 
of years has had preference in house equipment, has 
proved itself to be very durable and has met the 
requirements completely. Its moderate cost, as 
well as proven durability, has always been in its 
favor. For cheap construction a mild steel boiler, 
galvanized to look like the old favorite, has been 
for some time on the market. Some of these are 
made of steel of a cheap quality, which in time be- 
comes pitted and breaks down. So it is not safe to 
assume that all galvanized boilers belong in the 
same class. The galvanizing may cover up serious 
defects. 

In the manufacture of galvanized boilers the gal- 
vanizing is usually done after the boiler has been 
put together. It is important that the interior shall 
be thoroughly galvanized. This insures durability 
and water free from rust. 

The kitchen boiler should stand above the water 
front, if the best service is to be secured. The 
standard should hold the bottom of the tank about 
on a line with the bottom of the water front, so 
that the connection may be made nearly direct. 
Often there are many elbows between the boiler 
and the water front. Every turn retards the flow. 



184 



WATER FRONTS. 



The construction of a water front may be badly 
done. It is usually a hollow casting, with walls 
not too thick if the heat is to be absorbed freely. 
The lower connection should be close to the bottom 
of the casting to prevent the deposit of a bed of 
sediment in it. The properly made front contains 
a diaphragm extending from the connection end 
three-quarters the length of the front, so that the 
water, as it is warmed, may pass around the end of 
the diaphragm, gathering heat as it flows through 
the upper chamber to the outflow pipe leading to 
the upper central part of the tank. The water front 
connections should be i^-inch pipe to insure first- 
class results. The larger the pipe the less the fric- 
tion of the flow. The 'careful reaming of the ends 
of pipes is another essential, as the water moves 
under the very slight pressure due to heating. The 
range connections are made often by inexperienced 
plumbers, who give too little thought to the prin- 
ciples that apply to the work upon which they may 
be engaged. Freedom from burrs in hot-water 
pipes is particularly important to make a successful 
job. 

Sometimes an auxiliary heating apparatus for 
the kitchen boiler is desired, particularly on wash- 
day. A laundry stove with water front may be put 
in and connected with the boiler without interfering 
with the range connections. This will insure an 



185 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



abundant supply at a time when most needed and 
with shght additional expense. 

An arrangement much preferred by some house- 
keepers is to have an auxiliary gas heater attached 
to the kitchen boiler. This gives a much broader 
service, as it may be lighted when there is no fire 
in the kitchen range or laundry stove. It will also 
serve as the extra heater in place of the laundry 
stove on days when extra hot water is in demand. 
In modern economy hot water is in demand all the 
time, night and day, and the small tank heaters 
have found a definite place in household equipment. 
As now constructed they have high fuel efficiency. 
The heat from the gas flame is so directed as to 
make rapid progress in heating a tank full of 
water. The household invariably finds occasion 
for the frequent use of such apparatus when once 
it is installed. There are numerous makes of such 
auxiliary heaters and their simplicity of operation 
and moderate cost have made them very popular. 

The luxury of hot water at any and all times 
is provided for by several makes of automatic water 
heaters. These are usually installed in the base- 
ment and are necessarily heated by gas. They are 
so constructed that upon opening the hot water 
faucet in any part of the house the gas jets are 
automatically lighted from a pilot light and con- 
tinue to burn so long as the faucet remains open. 

i86 



KITCHEN BOILERS. 



When the faucet is closed the gas is shut off, with 
the exception of the pilot light. The heating of 
the water is accomplished by placing a stack of 
pipe coils directly over the assemblage of gas burn- 
ers, the coils having a sufficient number of turns 
and the jets generating a sufficient number of heat 
units to heat the water while it passes swiftly 
through the pipes to the open faucet. These heat- 
ers are made to deliver from three to nine gallons 
a minute at an expenditure of energy of one foot 
of gas to each gallon of water, according to the 
guaranty of the makers, starting with water at a 
temperature of 55 degrees and delivering it at 130 
degrees. 

In order to meet a demand for hot-water tanks 
whose contents may be heated from a steam heating 
plant such tanks are made with pipe coils which 
may be connected with the steam heating system 
in the same manner as radiators are connected. 
These tanks are usually of large size and may be 
suspended with iron straps from the floor joists in 
the basement or placed upon substantial supports 
so as to be above the return mains of the steam 
system. 

The ordinary kitchen tank has a capacity of 30 
to 40 gallons. If there is an extra bathroom in the 
house an additional capacity of 30 gallons should 
be added. 



187 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



Advantage is sometimes taken of the extra heat 
of the kitchen range boiler to warm a room above 
by flowing the hot water through a radiator. The 
connection is made from the top of the boiler to the 
top of the radiator and from the bottom of the 
radiator to the return flow pipe of the boiler or 
by an independent connection. This can be done 
satisfactorily only when the fire in the kitchen range 
is continuous. The connections should be so made 
that the radiator may be cut out in summer. 

Water heaters that perform the additional func- 
tion of burning the garbage are now available and 
help to solve the ever-present problem of garbage 
disposal. The question may be settled, each house- 
holder for himself, by providing for burning all 
garbage on the premises. It disposes also, in part, 
of the problem of keeping down the rapid breed- 
ing of house flies. We never shall attain the acme 
of hygienic conditions until a system of inspection 
and law enforcement abolishes the places where 
house flies may breed. The burning of garbage 
in the home, if attended to by all, would remove 
one of the most disagreeable features of life in the 
city. A garbage crematory into which all rubbish 
may be thrown to be destroyed, using the fire to 
provide the hot water supply, is both economic and 
hygienic. 

i88 



GARBAGE BURNERS. 



Where the amount of garbage is small it is some- 
times burned in the small magazine water heater 
usually installed in the basement or stable. It is 
thrown into the magazine and a little coal put on 
top. It dries rapidly and burns quickly when it 
reaches the fire. A garbage burner when installed 
in the basement should close tightly to prevent odors 
from burning bones or meat scraps from permeating 
the house. 

There are several makes of combined garbage 
burners and water heaters, both portable and brick- 
set styles. The combustion chamber is enclosed by 
a water jacket and coils or gratings of water pipes 
above the fire form a drying rack for the garbage. 
In some of these a change of dampers sends the 
blaze up so that it ignites the dried garbage and 
helps to heat the water. In others the dried ma- 
terial is transferred to the lower grate. In large 
dwellings, and especially in apartment buildings, 
the garbage burner has come to be a recognized 
necessity, to the end that the premises may be kept 
neat, agreeable and sanitary. Soft coal is preferred 
for most of the successful garbage burners and heat- 
ers. It is not only cheaper but any drippings from 
the garbage do not affect the fire. 

The hot-water connections with the laundry, bath- 
room and kitchen sink, as well as to lavatories, are 
usually made with pipes of the same size as those 



189 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



for cold water. A three-quarter-inch pipe is ample 
for such purposes. The fixtures should be of the 
best, as inferior bibbs and valves are costly in the 
long run. Where pipes are carried over rooms con- 
taining valuable wall decorations, choice draperies 
or carpets, possible loss may be prevented by plac- 
ing beneath the pipes a water-tight trough with 
suitable discharge. The condensation of moisture 
on the cold water pipes often amounts to consider- 
ably more than will adhere to the pipes and much 
dripping is the result, which may lead to the loos- 
ening of the plastering in time with resultant dam- 
age to furnishings or decorations. 

A plan of heating water instantaneously, entirely 
independent of the kitchen boiler, is provided in 
several small gas heaters suitable for the bathroom, 
kitchen, laundry or stable. The plan of operation 
is so simple that there is little excuse for accident; 
no more, in fact, than with the gas stove. In some 
makes the water is thrown in a spray so that the 
minute drops may gather heat from the hot gases 
of combustion arising from the gas flame. The 
water comes in direct contact -with the gases in the 
upper part of the combustion chamber and falls on 
perforated plates, which also are hot, and flows to 
other plates below till finally discharged through 
the spout. These heaters are properly constructed 
entirely of copper and form one of the most valued 



190 



WATER TEMPERATURE CONTROL. 



conveniences of the home. Other types of con- 
struction avoid the direct contact of the water with 
the gases in the combustion chamber, but depend 
upon a multitude of coils to transmit the heat to the 
water flowing through them. In practice the con- 
sumption of gas is not found to be a serious matter. 
The gas is burned but a few minutes at a time and 
the total amount used in a month is insignificant in 
comparison with the time saved and the convenience 
afforded by the use of the heater. The temperature 
of the water flowing from the heater is regulated 
by the amount allowed to flow into it. 

Temperature control, as previously noted, may be 
applied to the kitchen boiler or other storage tanks 
to prevent the water from becoming too hot. Such 
control is desirable, to prevent disagreeable results, 
when the hot water faucet is opened. Scalding hot 
water is not required for the ordinary uses to which 
the tank supply is applied, and a temperature of 130 
to 160 degrees is suflicient for the usual purposes. 
Excessive steaming when the hot water faucet is 
opened should be prevented because of its danger 
to the members of the family, and clouds of steam 
are both disagreeable and destructive. The tank 
regulator is applied to the kitchen boiler in much 
the same way that it is applied to the furnace. It 
is controlled by temperature and sets in operation 
the necessary force to close or open the dampers. 



191 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



If gas is used it may be made to turn on the supply 
or shut it off. If the tank is heated with a steam 
coil the regulator reduces or shuts off entirely the 
supply of steam to the coils. The thermostats and 
pressure devices for temperature control are de- 
scribed in Chapter XL 

In the installation of the kitchen boiler no valve 
except the usual stop and waste cock should be 
installed between it and the supply. The expansion 
of the water produces a back pressure that finds 
relief against the pressure of the public system, 
which is usually about 40 pounds. A kitchen boiler 
should be tested to 150 pounds pressure, and if the 
water system pressure is excessive the boiler should 
be extra heavy, capable of withstanding a test of 
250 pounds. It is desirable to install a safety valve 
on each kitchen boiler. 



192 



Chapter XIV. 



THE KITCHEN. 

Proper flooring. IVindozvs: The kitchen sink. 
Grease traps. The cooking range. Ventilation. 
Refrigerator room. Pantries. Butler's pantry 
and its equipment. 

TT IS a long step in development but a short one 
in time from the kitchen with its smudgy fire- 
place, its crane and brick oven to the modem 
kitchen with its perfect ranges — wood, coal, gas, 
electric — and its scientific sanitation. With a kitchen 
equipped as it may be done in these early years of 
the twentieth century there appears little to be de- 
sired. There is no place in the house where the ex- 
penditure of money counts for so much in the saving 
of labor, time, nervous energy and temper as in the 
kitchen. It is just as important to have the latest 
and most perfect tools and equipment for work in 
the kitchen and to have that equipment installed 
upon a wxU-thought-out plan as it is in the machine 
shop or factory for the production of merchandise. 
In a previous chapter attention is called to the 
possibilities of greatly lightening the labor of house- 



193 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



keeping by having the kitchen well arranged and 
properly equipped. In this chapter we purpose to 
elaborate that idea and tell what is available and 
what may be or should be done to make this de- 
partment of the house an ideal one. 

The kitchen usually and very properly is situated 
in the back part of the house, on the first floor. It 
should be as close to the dining room as possible 
without obtruding its noises or odors upon the din- 
ner party or the family at its meals. Two doors 
and a short passage-way are sufficient to deaden 
the sounds and to keep down the more noticeable 
odors of boiling and roasting. The doors should 
have glass panels to prevent collisions. They should 
be of light construction, self-closing and made to 
swing both ways. This arrangement enables the 
waitress to pass to and fro with both hands full and 
to do her work rapidly and noiselessly. 

It is not desirable to have an outside door to the 
kitchen, because it brings in too much litter and in a 
measure defeats the efifort to keep the room clean 
and wholesome. A blast of cold air from an open 
door in winter is not conducive to the best results 
in baking and other kitchen work. A well-lighted 
entry has many uses. Experience shows that a 
glazed door between the kitchen and the entry serves 
a useful purpose. In the entry may be placed a 
shelf on which the delivery clerks may deposit their 



194 



THE KITCHEN ENTRY. 



bundles without coming into the house and engag- 
ing in unnecessary conversation. In the entry may 
be kept the brooms and mops (a good self-wringing 
mop is now available), each assigned to its particu- 
lar rack or closet. A broom closet with places for 
dustpans and receptacles for sweepings should have 
a place on every floor. It is no economy to have 
less than three sweeping outfits in any house, each 
set having a place where it may be conveniently at 
hand whenever wanted. Dusting cloths and wall- 
wipers may be kept in the same closets. The broom 
and dustpan have been looking for abiding places 
for generations and many modern architects still 
overlook making provision for them. 

In the entry may be kept the baskets that are to 
be returned to the grocer. The milkman may de- 
liver his bottles in this place. The ice cream man 
may put his pail of ice with its brick of dessert in 
here, where it will be safe from molestation. It is 
a good place for the children's sleds in winter. If 
it can communicate through a back hall to other 
parts of the house it will save much traffic through 
the kitchen. In planning the entry its variety of 
uses should be kept in mind lest it be made too small, 
for it can be useful only in proportion to its ca- 
pacity. 

The flooring for the kitchen is commonly of hard 
maple cut in narrow strips and closely matched. The 



195 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



light color of the wood shows spots distinctly and 
on account of its absorbent character requires a 
deal of scrubbing to keep it clean and white. There 
are better things that the housewife will appreciate. 
One of these is a rubber lock-tile specially designed 
for kitchen, bathroom and laundry floors. Other 
tile may be used, but care should be taken to avoid 
a slippery quality. The hard glazed tile or the hard 
marble or slate tiles are not pleasant to stand on 
while at work and are treacherous when wet. The 
rubber tiles, in a variety of colors, make a beautiful 
floor and fulfill a demand that has long been known 
to exist. Linoleums have been much used, but their 
joints and edges have a faculty of gathering dirt, 
and it cannot be washed down as successfully as 
can the new tile, which are impervious. 

The walls of the kitchen should not be papered 
and there should be as little woodwork as possible. 
Walls that can be washed with soap and water meet 
the sanitary requirements best. A smoothly plas- 
tered wall may be painted two or three coats with 
oil paint of an attractive shade, which may be re- 
newed with a single coat from time to time. This 
may be stippled to reduce the glossy effect. A 
sanitary wall covering is now made to meet the de- 
sire for decorative effects. It consists of a dull- 
finish oilcloth in almost as great a variety of suitable 
patterns as may be found in kitchen wallpapers. 

196 



KITCHEN WALLS. 



This oilcloth may be washed with soap and water 
and is very beautiful not only for the kitchen but 
for all rooms. It comes in rolls equal to about four 
rolls of wallpaper and costs about two dollars per 
roll. It is put on the walls with paste in the same 
manner as paper, but stays best if the walls are care- 
fully sized before it is applied. As it is calculated 
to be a permanent covering, it should be put on 
with care and precision. 

A tiled wainscoting makes a clean and pretty 
effect. Sometimes in the newer houses the entire 
interior of the kitchen, except the floor, is line.d with 
metal tile, at a cost of $200 to $300, making a room 
that is the nearest possible approach to an absolutely 
sanitary covering. By the use of colors in limited 
degree a surprisingly ornamental interior may be 
produced. The floor of rubber tiling completes the 
room so that none but impervious surfaces are pre- 
sented. 

The windows of the kitchen should be large 
enough and of sufficient number to give good light. 
It should be one of the brightest rooms in the house. 
It is one of the most used rooms and good light will 
help in its sanitary care. A cheerful kitchen helps 
to make a cheerful housekeeper and a more con- 
tented servant. There should be no dark corners in 
a kitchen. They are always to be regarded with 
more or less suspicion. In the use of gas it is neces- 



197 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



sary to guard against draughts. It sometimes hap- 
pens that the range is so placed that an open win- 
dow will blow out the gas and make it impossible 
to use the range without closing the window. The 
height of the window sill might be raised above the 
point where it will strike the gas direct, for in sum- 
mer it is necessary, for comfort, to have the win- 
dows open. The windows should be such as may be 
pulled down from the top easily for extra ventilation 
when wanted. 

When buildings stand close together the kitchen 
may have too little light. This often may be rem- 
edied by the arrangement of prismatic windows and 
reflectors. If the white light of the sky can be 
caught by the prisms they may be made to direct 
it from angle to angle till the darkest corners are 
made light. By making the upper parts of parti- 
tions of prismatic glass light may be carried through 
a light room to a darker one to advantage. The 
prismatic glass may now be bought in sheets and 
installed at much less cost than formerly. An ex- 
perienced glazier must be employed to put it in, be- 
cause the prisms must be arranged in a certain way 
to secure the results desired. 

The kitchen sink has been a problem from the 
time of the origin of the art and later the science 
of plumbing. It used to be of wood, stoutly put 
together and caulked with white lead or tow and 

198 



KITCHEN SINK. 



linseed oil in the manner of wooden ships. And 
there are wooden sinks still, even though sanitary 
science condemns them. 

But there shall be no wooden sink in this modern 
home, for it is not handsome ; the wood is absorbent 
of every liquid and oily substance that gets into it 
and it is very difficult to keep clean. Then beneath 
the wooden sink there are so many crannies that 
rarely are looked into. Think of the labor that is 
saved when you throw away the wooden sink ! 

If the sink is made of plain cast iron it should be 
painted inside and out and repainted as often as 
cleanliness demands. There should be no wood- 
work whatever around it, for reasons already noted. 
Iron sinks are often galvanized. If this is well done 
it makes a very good looking and sanitary sink. 
The next upward step brings us to the cast iron, 
porcelain enameled sink, with roll rim and high 
back, all in one piece. This fixture is handsome 
enough for any house and has the quality of dur- 
ability that makes it desirable from an economic 
point of view. Pressed steel sinks, enameled, are 
considerably used, and give excellent service. Soap- 
stone has also been much used for kitchen sinks. 

Sometimes the sink is made of copper or of Ger- 
man silver, but these metals are not commonly em- 
ployed for this purpose. They are to be seen rather 
for the sink in the butler's pantry, which serves for 



199 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



the more delicate operations in connection with the 
cuhnary work of the house. Slate and soapstone 
slabs cemented together have been used for sinks, 
but iron is stronger and seems destined to supplant 
all other materials either in its galvanized or porce- 
lain enameled form. 

The most beautiful sink is the solid porcelain. For 
this purpose the fine china clay is ground and mixed 
with the greatest care and the mold allows for a 
thick and heavy fixture not likely to be broken and 
as near ideally sanitary as such a fixture can be 
made. The back is high and the bibbs project but 
slightly, so that they are out of the way. 

The modern pattern of kitchen sink has the drain 
board as an integral part of it, making a complete 
and attractive fixture. Where the sink is of cast 
iron or porcelain, rubber draining mats are used for 
dishes to reduce the liability of breaking them. A 
useful pattern has a drain board at each end. This 
arrangement is appreciated when washing dishes, 
the dishes being taken from one board, washed and 
placed on the opposite board to drain. A special 
vegetable washing sink is also made. The combi- 
nation of laundry tray and kitchen sink in one fix- 
ture has been mentioned in Chapter VI, on the 
laundry. In this case the drain board forms a re- 
movable cover to the laundry tray. This arrange- 
ment is suited only to the very small house or flat. 



200 



LOCATION OF SINK. 



The location of the sink is preferably near the 
pantries under a window, where plenty of light is 
thrown upon the work. Theoretically the plumbing 
of the house should be upon the inside walls to re- 
move any liability of freezing. A permissible viola- 
tion of that rule is in the placing of the sink and its 
fixtures. Too often the sink is placed in a narrow 
space between two doors, where the worker stands 
in her own light, where a narrow sized sink is 
bought and a very short drain board put in to fit the 
space. This, of course, insures a perpetual incon- 
venience to the housekeeper. In planning the 
kitchen aim to have plenty of room and have it in the 
right place. Avoid the necessity of putting in make- 
shifts immediately on occupying the house. A mar- 
ble shelf over the sink, which may be kept clean 
easily, is a convenience in the right place. Another 
convenience for the sink itself is a removable lat- 
tice rack for the bottom of the sink for use when 
it is desired to keep the dishes off the bottom. A 
drain basket for the corner of the sink is a con- 
venience in separating the coarser material from 
the liquid. 

The sink should be supplied with the best faucets, 
such as will shut off completely and will not be con- 
stantly dripping. The self-closing faucet is not 
usable here. The cold water supply should have 
a hose bibb end, as it is sometim^es desirable to at- 



20 1 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



tach the hose in the kitchen with which to flush 
some fixture elsewhere in the house. The faucets 
should be compact, close to the back, and high up 
out of the way so that dishes may not be broken 
by striking against them. Sometimes a strong wire 
basket may be used in the sink for the dishes to rest 
in for rinsing instead of being placed on the drain 
board. If the wall back of the sink may be tiled to 
a suitable height it gives a clean and pleasing effect 
and the tiles may be easily wiped free of spatter- 
ings. 

The grease trap is not regarded as a necessity 
in the ordinary dwelling. The amount of hot water 
passing through the drain pipe of the sink is usually 
sufficient to carry the grease to the sewer. A fre- 
quent flushing with hot water from the hot water 
faucet is desirable. The flow may be regulated so 
as to continue for a long time, gradually melting 
any accumulation of grease throughout the length 
of the drain. Sudden and short dashings of hot 
water are not sufficient to be effective. 

Grease traps are merely for the purpose of arrest- 
ing the flow of grease and accumulating it in one 
place, where it may be taken out in quantity from 
time to time. Unless the trap is cooled sufficiently 
to coagulate the grease it will be carried on through 
the drain to collect on the sides beyond or go on 
to the sewer. The grease trap violates the theory 



202 



SINK WASTE PIPE. 



that all refuse should be made to pass as quickly 
as possible from the drainage system of the house, 
and unless it is cared for frequently it becomes 
objectionable. The need of a grease trap arises 
only when so much hot fat passes through the 
waste as to clog the trap by its sudden cooling and 
checking the flow. If the hot water faucet is 
allowed to run freely whenever greasy waste is 
poured into the sink there is little danger of clog- 
ging from this cause. 

The waste pipe from a sink is frequently larger 
than necessary. A pipe that will run full is less 
likely to become foul than one which is so large as 
to lose the scouring effect of a full flow. An inch 
waste pipe is better than two inches for the ordinary 
kitchen sink. The strainer usually is without any 
provision for closing, though such a convenience 
often is desirable. Strainers are made with double 
perforated disks, so that by turning the pivoted disk 
the holes are closed or opened. Others have a 
standing overflow plug accurately fitted. A piece 
of sheet rubber may be used to lay over the strainer, 
when no other device has been provided, to retain 
water in the sink. 

A salesman whose business it is to give expert 
advice on gas ranges says the selection of a range is 
a delicate matter to be left entirely to the woman 
who is most concerned. He shows to the customer 



203 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



all the good points, and objectionable ones also, and 
that ends his story. He stops short of the decision. 
Some women will leave the choice to the husband, 
while others exclude him from the transaction. 

The gas range is most generally used in the big 
cities, where dollar gas in available, and in the nat- 
ural gas regions. But gas for cooking, at any price, 
is far preferable to coal or wood. The saving of 
time and labor is such as to make it the ideal fuel 
for the kitchen. The temperature is always under 
control for the oven or for the pans and kettles on 
top of the stove. The common type of gas stove 
has four burners on top, an oven below and a 
broiler still farther down. It is a compact piece of 
furniture, the objection to it being that the oven 
blaze is not in view without stooping and the broiler 
is so low as to be inconvenient. 

A new type of gas range has a high oven in the 
middle, with warming oven above and broiler be- 
low. The burners, four in number, are placed two 
on each side of the oven, so that it is not necessary 
to reach over a blaze to get to the back burner or 
to the oven. The objection to high ovens back of 
the burners is that it is necessary to reach over the 
burners. Any stove which compels the user to 
reach over the front burners may be classed as ob- 
jectionable, if not dangerous. A combination gas 



204 



GAS RANGES. 



and coal range for use where the demands are 
heavy is one of the novelties. 

Another new gas range has a vegetable oven or 
an enclosed burner, where such vegetables as cab- 
bage and onions may be cooked without any of the 
odors escaping even to the kitchen. The oven is 
entirely of copper, or with copper heating plates and 
nickeled brass shell, and form one of the most valued 
stovepipe, through which all the odors pass up the 
chimney. 

Another variation has the broiling oven at the side 
with a long griddle above it. The arrangement of 
the burners so that a removable galvanized iron pan 
may be placed below them to catch the burnt 
matches and scraps of food that are dropped during 
the process of preparation is a distinct advance, 
making it possible to keep the stove clean and at- 
tractive. A removable tin oven may be used with 
a very small gas burner or may serve to give addi- 
tional oven capacity on a large range. Sometimes 
the gas cocks in gas stoves are cheap and of poor 
quality, when they should be the best, free from 
liability to get out of order. 

The coal and wood ranges show a marked ad- 
vance over what was available a few years ago. 
The modern ranges of the best type have a double 
grate which may be partially revolved to remove 
clinkers and clear out the ashes for a hot fire. It 



205 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



has a feed spout in front so that it is not neces- 
sary to remove a Hd or kettle when putting on coal. 
The arrangement also prevents the escape of gas 
or smoke into the room. There is also a door at 
the end so that the fire may be stirred from below. 
The top of the stove over the fire box is hinged so 
that it may be lifted a few inches permitting the 
broiling of steaks or the toasting of bread over the 
coals. The top serves as a hood to prevent the 
escape of smoke or soot into the room. The oven is 
provided with a thermometer by which the right de- 
gree of heat may be gauged for the considerable va- 
riations of temperature desired in baking and roast- 
ing. The cast iron or riveted steel stove having the 
features mentioned is quite certain to be superior in 
its other qualities. Cooking ranges need to be kept 
clear of ashes to give best results and the cleanouts 
should be opened frequently and examined. Elec- 
tric ranges and cooking devices are treated in Chap- 
ter XVIII. 

The kitchen should have good ventilation. A 
chimney flue of ample size with large grating near 
the ceiling should, if possible, be devoted exclusively 
to the function of drawing off the upper strata of 
the kitchen atmosphere. Sometimes a large sheet- 
iron hood is placed above the range, adjustable to 
any height. Such equipment is certain to catch a 
great deal of dust and it encumbers the kitchen so 

206 



REFRIGERATOR ROOM. 



much that it is of questionable value. The provision 
of specially ventilated broiling and vegetable ovens 
tends to remove the need of a ventilating hood. The 
location of the range should be with full regard 
for the light. There cannot be too much light upon 
the work of preparing the food for the family table. 
It should not be too close to the sink, especially if it 
be a coal or wood range, as it would compel anyone 
at work at the sink to stand uncomfortably near 
the fire. 

If the refrigerator may be placed by itself in a 
small room contiguous to the pantries and opening 
into the kitchen it will have a most convenient loca- 
tion. The room should have an opening through 
the outside wall of the house to a piazza from which 
the iceman may fill the ice chamber without enter- 
ing the house. The drain should be accessible and 
large enough to admit the end of the garden hose 
for the purpose of flushing. The drain should not 
connect directly with the sewer but should drip over 
an area or basement drain or sink. Good construc- 
tion requires a trap in the refrigerator drain pipe 
near the refrigerator. This trap should have an 
accessible screw cleanout and the discharge should 
be situated where it may be seen frequently. All 
parts of the pipe should be exposed, as such a drain 
pipe is subject to clogging with fungus growths, 
bits of straw and sawdust. 



207 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The refrigerator itself has developed into an ar- 
ticle of high sanitary efficiency. Galvanized iron 
and zinc have given place in the better makes to 
porcelain enamel linings which may be kept clean 
easily and offer the least inducement for the lodg- 
ment of particles of food or foreign materials. A 
screen window in the refrigerator room for winter 
use obviates the necessity for ice during cold months 
for the preservation of food. 

The situation of the pantries is preferably along 
the passageway leading to the dining room. The 
china closet should be nearest the dining room and 
the butler's pantry next. The kitchen pantry proper 
needs to open only into the kitchen, although a light 
door opening to the butler's pantry will be found 
useful on many occasions. Light sliding doors 
should close the butler's pantry and the china room 
effectually from the passageway. The pantries may 
be lighted by narrow windows which require as little 
of the wall space as possible. 

The butler's pantry should be equipped with a 
small sink having above it high goose-neck hot and 
cold water faucets made specially for such use. The 
butler's sink usually is made of copper or german 
silver. White enameled cast iron or pressed steel, 
or solid porcelain may be substituted. 

Heat should be supplied to the kitchen pantry to 
prevent the freezing of food in winter and to pro- 

208 



THE KITCHEN PANTRY. 



vide comfort for the workers in that apartment. The 
kitchen pantry is most serviceable if it is roomy, 
affording space for a molding board with flour bin 
close at hand and storage for all the articles and ma- 
terials used in making bread, cakes and pastry. It 
is desirable to avoid taking all this work into the 
kitchen and much labor will be saved by the sug- 
gested arrangement. Here, too, should be a strong 
shelf to which may be attached a meat and vege- 
table grinder, to remain in place. This is a desirable 
machine in household economy, but is little used if it 
is always necessary to get it out, fasten it to the shelf 
and put it together before using. The chopping 
bowl appears then to be an easier alternative. One 
side of the pantry should have shelves with glass 
doors where food may be kept. 

The walls back of all the pantry shelves should be 
of some material that will not disintegrate from 
shock or other cause and fall down. On this ac- 
count a plastered wall is objectionable unless cov- 
ered with an impervious oil-cloth. A closely ceiled 
or tiled wall makes a neat and clean finish. 

A lavatory installed in the entry or in a conven- 
ient place in the kitchen will remove the necessity 
for using the sink for such a purpose. A well ap- 
pointed kitchen is not complete without its sep- 
arate lavatory. 



209 



Chapter XV. 



THE BATH ROOM. 

1)1 proportion to its use the most sumptuous room 
in the house. Light and air. The baths, shoiver, 
tub, sitz and foot. The lavatory. The zvater 
closet, zmshout, washdown, syphon jet, or Hush- 
ing valve; the plumbing woodwork ; high tanks 
and lozv tanks. Traps. Bath-room accessories. 
Out of door water closet, anti-freezing and frost 
proof. 

^ I ^ HE modern bathroom is the most sumptuous 
room in the house in proportion to its size. 
Infinite study has been expended upon the devising 
of bath room fittings until they seem now to ap- 
proach the ideal of luxury and perfect sanitation. 
The evolution has been rapid and the signal advan- 
tage of the new things over those that were ac- 
cepted only ? few years ago is apparent to every 
observer. 

Our ideas have changed too as to the number of 
bath rooms a house should contain. Even now we 
consider the influence of bath-room luxury upon 
character and habits of personal cleanliness, not 



2IO 



TWO BATH ROOMS. 



only for the family but for the employees of the 
house and the premises. Cleanliness and perfect 
sanitation in one place suggest the enforcement 
of similar conditions in all places. The idea is 
catching. 

Even the smaller dwellings should have two 
bath rooms. The idea that the servant's closet 
should be in the basement has become obsolete. 
There should be a well equipped bath room adja- 
cent to the servants' rooms. Its effect is excellent 
and the investment will be returned several fold in 
better service and more cleanly habits on the part 
of the domestic help. It is in the nature of things 
that such results should follow these provisions 
for their health and comfort. The arrangement 
has a time-saving value also. 

In the better houses a bath room situated off 
the family room or suite and a general bath room 
off the hall are provided. The extra room is some- 
times adjacent to the guest room for the exclusive 
use of the guest. Toilet rooms for the children, 
with small fixtures, are very desirable in homes 
where there are children. In the construction of a 
house the children are entitled to consideration and 
nothing will minister more to their comfort than 
to have such a convenience exclusively for them. 

The notable improvements which have been made 
in plumbing and fixtures have not been attended 



211 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



with greater costliness, but rather the reduction of 
ccst has made the superior articles more generally 
available. Where one bathroom was considered a 
luxury a few years ago two or more bath rooms 
are now regarded as necessities. Reduction in 
price, the standardizing of fixtures, the ability of 
the plumber to figure accurately and give a price 
for the fixtures installed in place, ready for use, 
have simplified the business from the viewpoint of 
the purchaser. He does not feel that he is plung- 
ing into an extravagance of unknown extent, be- 
cause there need be nothing indefinite in the con- 
tract. 

Again, people are better traveled and more widely 
experienced. The higher way of living appeals to 
them and the luxury of a complete home is marked 
''number one" in the list of things embraced in 
their aspirations. No part of the house is more 
expressive of the refinement of the family than the 
bath room. The little ideas that are wrought into 
its making and the marks of its proper use are 
ineradicable to the observant eye. The modern 
bath room is truly a show room. The housekeeper, 
in showing her friends through her new home, 
takes no less pride in directing attention to the 
neatly or beautifully equipped bath room than in 
'' displaying the furnishings of other rooms, for no 
room more than this bespeaks luxury, if made ac- 



212 



SIZE OF BATH ROOM. 



cording to the latest ideas of what is best in the 
art and science of good pkimbing. 

The bath room need not be large for the ordi- 
nary equipment of bath tubs, lavatory and water 
closet. The addition of shower bath, foot or sitz 
bath tubs will require additional space. Usually 
six by eight or ten feet are sufficient dimensions, 
while eight or ten by ten afford exceptional 
luxury. One small, stout chair and a small 
table are desirable where room for them can be 
given. The apartment should have abundant light. 
Rarely does it have more than one exposed side. A 
good arrangement is to have two windows with 
sills waist high or higher with sufficient space be- 
tween for a plate glass mirror. The man of the 
house will appreciate this as an ideal provision for 
the morning shave. Gas jets on each side of the 
glass or suspended from above it complete the ar- 
rangement. The windows should be as wide as 
the space will permit and should open easily to pro- 
vide good circulation in summer and additional 
ventilation when wanted at other seasons. A ven- 
tilator with a good draft is particularly desirable 
for the bath room, in order that there may be a con- 
stant inflow of air from other rooms rather than 
any outflow whatever to other apartments. To this 
end a ventilating register near the ceiling, in ad- 
dition to the one in the baseboard, will not be super- 



213 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



fluous. In many situations the omission of the 
threshold or the cutting of half an inch from the 
bottom of the door will greatly facilitate the change 
of air. If the bath room may have direct sunlight 
during some part of the day so much the better. 
The purifying effect of the sunlight should make it 
a welcome visitor to every room. 

The walls of the bath room need to be imper- 
vious to vapor. In no place may fancy tiUng be 
used more appropriately than here. Frequently 
the entire interior of the bathroom n Hned with art 
tile of costly and elaborate workmanship. The 
mosaic patterns are especially beautiful. Recently 
there has come into quite general use enameled 
sheet metal which so closely imitates tile that one 
does not casually observe that it is not glazed cera- 
mic tiling. The entire interior of the bath room 
may be lined with this material, as suggested for 
the kitchen, giving a very clean and sanitary effect. 
The walls may then be spattered freely without 
harm and the sense of cleanliness which such walls 
impart makes them very desirable. 

Bath room floors are best when made of imper- 
vious material. Mosaics are much used. The one- 
inch hexagon, the three-quarter-inch squares and 
the thirteen-sixteenths-inch round mosaic tiles may 
be laid in patterns innumerable. A greater variety 
of color is available in the mosaic tiles than in any 



214 



THE BATH ROOM FLOOR. 



other suitable material for the bath room floor. A 
pattern border with solid center over which rugs 
may be laid gives a pleasing result. The interlock- 
ing rubber tiling has an advantage to which the at- 
tention of those not familiar with it should be called, 
namely, that it does not become sHppery. The 
amount of rubber in its composition is compara- 
tively slight, but sufficient to give it elasticity and 
adhesiveness which make it safer perhaps than 
any other available floor covering. It is also noise- 
less and when once in place the joints close so 
snugly that it is as impervious as if it were one 
solid piece. 

The simpler and cheaper forms of bath room 
floors are oil-finished wood, mosaic wood carpet 
or parquetry, linoleums and cement with an admix- 
ture of hardwood sawdust which gives a slightly 
flexible and warm floor. The wood floor with in- 
laid patterns cannot be classed among the cheaper 
floors as they are often elaborate and handsomely 
artistic. 

Too often the bath room is not well heated, mak- 
ing it necessary in very cold weather to bring in 
a portable stove to warm the room sufficiently for 
bathing. If ample provision is not made for heat- 
ing the bath room, especially when a hot-air fur- 
nace is used, it will be found difficult and costly to 
remedy the defect when finally it is discovered. 



215 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



When the bath room is situated in a part of the 
house remote from the furnace it will require a 
much larger heating flue than if situated in the 
central part of the house where the course of the 
flue may be more direct. It is not difficult to guard 
against such an error in the heating plan. A little 
forethought will save much trouble. Attention is 
called to it on account of the frequency of the 
error. 

The bath tub has undergone such a marvelous 
evolution that it is worth while to revert to some 
of the earlier types. The best remembered by the 
present generation is the old wooden form, lined 
with tin, zinc or copper. The copper-lined tub 
has shown such lasting qualities that it is in use 
today in many of the old houses. It is all boxed 
in, with unknown dark and often dank recesses, 
where the water has been splashed for decades. The 
fiber tub was a short-lived affair. It was made of 
indurated fiber such as seen today in the so-called 
paper pails .and tubs. It was found to be objec- 
tionable because the white enamel turned yellow 
and cracked and the material v\'as of an inflam- 
mable character. Such tubs are no longer manu- 
factured. 

The cast-iron tub is not new but has developed 
through many years to its present state of enameled 
perfection. Cast iron and sheet steel or iron tubs 

2l6 



THE BATH TUB. 



have been variously made. Tinned copper has 
been used as a Hning, with a layer of putty be- 
tween the copper and iron and with a wooden rail 
around the top. The effect was one of solidity but 
the copper was always liable to puncture and the 
wooden rail was objectionable. Enamel paint, 
baked on, in the same manner as bicycle frames are 
enameled, was one of the developments. This 
paint is still used for the outside of enameled tubs. 
The ordinary cast-iron tub was also painted inside 
and out and gave a very satisfactory bath that was, 
however, somewhat difficult to keep clean and the 
paint wore off after a little use. 

The cast-iron tub with porcelain enamel finish 
and roll rim is the best known development of the 
iron bath. This, too, has been through a process of 
evolution. It was first made with provision for a 
wooden rail around the top. This was fastened on 
by means of screws through holes in a flange for the 
purpose or through ears left on the casting through 
v/hich screw holes were drilled. The enamel is 
not sufficiently hard to resist the effect of gritty 
scouring materials such as are often used in keep- 
ing bath tubs clean. If the enamel is to be preserved 
in its original freshness of gloss no abrasive ma- 
terials should be used in cleaning it. A little gaso- 
line on a cloth is an effective cleansing material, 



217 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



but dangerous to use on account of liability of igni- 
tion. 

The price of these tubs, not so very long ago, 
was almost prohibitive for general use. Improved 
processes of manufacture and their production by 
a large number of factories have made them avail- 
able for the ordinary dwelling. What was consid- 
ered a high degree of luxury not many years ago 
is now one of the common possessions of families 
of modest means. 

A sheet steel tub pressed into shape so as to be 
entirely seamless promises to contest the market 
with the cast-iron tub. It is claimed for the seam- 
less sheet steel tub that it weighs only half as much 
as the cast-iron tub and that steel- will hold the por- 
celain enamel better. Being only one-eighth of an 
inch thick it also takes less heat from the water 
and does not impart the cold feeling that is notice- 
able in cast-iron tubs. It is said of the new tub that 
it weighs only about 150 pounds as compared with 
300 pounds in the cast tub. It is therefore possible 
that we are upon the eve of another revolution in 
bathroom fixtures, the pressed steel having many 
possibilities if the tendency to wrinkle in pressing 
may be successfully overcome. It is asserted that 
this has been accomplished. 

The solid porcelain tub, molded and glazed with 
the same care that is given to the best quality of 

218 



SHAPES OF BATH TUBS. 



tableware, is regarded as the ideal in bath-tub man- 
ufacture. Its elegance is undisputed. It has the 
unmistakable color and solidity that suggests the 
height of refinement in these fixtures. The china 
tubs are made in heavy and light grades, these 
terms being merely comparative. Both grades are 
heavy and require substantial bases for their in- 
stallation. Art has found its opportunity in de- 
signing graceful outlines and very handsome deco- 
rations give a luxurious touch to these superb fix- 
tures. 

Two standard shapes are in general use, the 
French and Roman. The French style slopes at 
one end only and is the commonest type, while the 
Roman shape slopes at both ends with faucets back 
of the tub. The best fittings admit the water noise- 
lessly from the side or bottom or very close to the 
edge at the top. Good practice aims to do away 
with all noisy fixtures. When it is necessary to 
place the bath tub in a recess or corner it is well to 
get one that will fit the place exactly. Such a tub 
is made with a square corner or corners so that 
it may be fitted perfectly to the wall tiling or 
marble slab without leaving any opening for the 
accumulation of filth or litter behind or under it. 
The back and ends are effectually shut in so that 
no water may drip through to the enclosed space. 



219 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The ordinary bath tub is not usually placed suf- 
ficiently far away from the wall to permit sweeping 
behind it. When conditions permit the plumber 
should so "rough in" his work as to permit a space 
of six or eight inches between the wall and the back 
of the tub. 

Art has given many variations of the two stand- 
ard shapes in the arrangement of the legs or base 
and in the pattern lines. Color is used to some 
extent but more generally the pure white tub is 
preferred. Elaborate decoration seems out of place 
in bath-room fixtures. Strong colors are especially 
to be avoided. A base which completely encloses 
the space beneath the tub, making the tub appear 
to sit immediately upon the floor, has the advan- 
tage of doing away with a place where ordinarily 
much dust and litter will accumulate unless given 
frequent attention. Such a base adds considerably 
to the cost of the tub but makes a substantial and 
handsome installation. 

The manufacture of bath tubs, particularly the 
solid porcelain or china baths, is attended with a 
certain amount of uncertainty in the quality of the 
product. Cracks, warps and blisters may appear in 
the process of firing, resulting in a grading that 
gives three classifications, usually designated as a, 
b and c. The grade a implies a perfect article ; b 
a very slightly defective one, and c any other that 



220 



FOOT AND SEAT BATHS. 



is fit for use. A considerable difference in price 
is made on account of even slight defects. Bath 
tubs are made from four and a half to six feet in 
length in the Roman and French styles, a short deep 
tub being preferable to a long and shallow one, a 
short tub giving greater depth of water for the 
number of gallons used. 

A foot bath tub is a very desirable fixture in the 
bath room. The restful and tonic effect of a foot 
bath may be had with greater convenience by 
using a tub made specially for the purpose. The 
ordinary tub is not suited to bathing the feet alone 
and the attempt to use it for that purpose by sitting 
on the edge is attended with no little risk. The 
footh bath is made of enameled cast iron with roll 
rim, and also of solid china. The tub is usually 
about 26 inches long, 21 inches wide and 15 inches 
high. 

The sitz or seat bath tub is usually about 30 
inches long, 2y inches wide, 21 inches high at the 
back and 13 inches at the front. The ideal material 
is solid porcelain or, next in favor, cast iron, with 
roll rim and porcelain enamel finish. Besides hav- 
ing the distinctive use for women the seat bath is 
especially convenient for bathing little children. It 
is also a good substitute for the foot bath tub. The 
seat bath is frequently provided at the back with a 
liver spray treatment with which is sometimes rec- 



221 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



ommended by physicians on account of the result- 
ing local tonic effect. 

A pretty arrangement for the nursery bath is a 
tub on a pedestal standing about the height of a ta- 
ble, 31 inches. 

The shower bath and its variations of needle and 
rain baths is variously provided for in modern 
installation. The receptor style has a round or 
square shallow tub with open drain, above which 
are suspended the spraying devices surrounded by 
a waterproof curtain sliding on a circular bar with 
rings. Receptors are made also to fit in a corner 
of the bath room. Again the fixtures may be placed 
in an alcove or stall with tiled or marble sides and 
a dished impermeable floor with drain, a waterproof 
curtain taking the place of a door. 

The rain bath differs from the shower bath in 
having the water fall in large drops at low ve- 
locity, while in the shower bath the water is de- 
livered in small drops or jets at high velocity. The 
needle bath delivers the water in fine jets at high 
velocity from several rows of pipe around the 
body as well as from above. Portable shower 
baths are also made and the ordinary bath tub may 
be used as a receptor for the shower bath. The 
fixtures may be arranged above the tub and the 
waterproof curtain may be thrown back so as to 
be out of the way when not in use. In the instal- 



222 



BATH TUB FITTINGS. 



lation of the shower bath with special receptor or 
stall opportunity is given for pretty effects in art 
tile and mosaic work. 

The fittings for the bath tub and for the shower 
bath should in all cases be of the best quality. Over- 
flows in the bath room are usually more serious 
than in any other part of the house, often damag- 
ing the ceilings and discoloring the walls. No 
effort should be spared to make the bath room se- 
cure against such accidents, both in its fixtures and 
plan of drainage. The simplest method of bringing 
the hot and cold water to the tub is through sep- 
arate faucets. A combination faucet is more 
often used in good construction but if there be 
a mixing chamber a distinct advantage will be 
thereby secured. This chamber, if provided with a 
thermometer with bulb placed within it, will be 
found most useful in securing definite tempera- 
tures. Especially is the mixing chamber neces- 
sary for the spray baths. If properly con- 
structed, it delivers the hot and cold water 
through rows of small holes from pipes within the 
chamber from which it flows, thoroughly mixed, 
to the bath tub bibb or spraying nozzles. A rubber 
pipe with a rose spray, attached to the combina- 
tion faucet of a bath tub, is the usual substitute for 
more elaborate shower-bath fixtures. 



22Z 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



The supply pipes for the bath tub should be of 
ample size to fill the tub rapidly. Economy of 
time demands such a provision and where several 
persons may v^ish to bathe there will be less wait- 
ing. The waste pipe also should be large, that 
the tub may as quickly be emptied, the water serv- 
ing the useful purpose of flushing the drain. 

The bidet is installed only in the more expensive 
bath rooms. It is usually of solid porcelain and 
is not ordinarily deemed a necessity when the room 
is provided with a seat bath. The urinal is also 
considered a superfluous fixture in bath room in- 
stallations in the home. Unless regularly attended 
to and supplied with deodorizers a urinal is apt 
to become offensive. The construction is such as to 
require liberal flushing and frequent cleansing by 
more effective methods. 

Sunken baths are not often installed unless a 
large pool is wanted. For the mere purpose of 
bathing they have no advantages over the com- 
moner method of bath-room arrangement, while 
being considerably more expensive. Where a pool 
of considerable dimensions is wanted it may be 
constructed of wood, or reinforced concrete, with a 
lining of glazed tile, sheet lead or copper. Great care 
is necessary to make such a pool water tight. The 
basement is the better place for a swimming pool. 

In the installation of bath tubs, especially where 



224 



THE LAVATORY. 



the floors are of wood, a marble or slate slab has 
often been placed upon or in the floor. This 
is countersunk to catch any water from leakage. 
On account of better construction both in fixtures 
and installation such safes are not now considered 
necessary. The amount of water likely to get upon 
the floor is too inconsequential to be considered. 

The lavatory shows the most pronounced im- 
provement of any plumbing fixtures. In a short 
time radical changes have taken place in favor of 
the solid earthenware and the enameled iron 
and the plain and decorated basins. The marble 
slab and earthenware decorated bowl, with marble 
wall-pieces were only a short time ago considered 
the finest type of lavatory construction. The busi- 
ness of manufacturing these fixtures has vanished. 
It would be difficult to find a plumber now install- 
ing such a fixture except perhaps to use up old 
stock on some customer who is seeking a bargain. 

The integral lavatory, with slab, bowl and back 
all in one piece, combines all the requirements 
of a sanitary fixture except as to its overflow duct 
and the short piece of pipe from the waste 
plug to the trap. Latest types of the integral lava- 
tories have the waste at the back with a ver- 
tical overflow duct which may be reached through- 
out its leftgth for cleansing. A removable screen 
in the waste opening makes the waste pipe 



225 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



equally accessible. This has been objected to be- 
cause of the liability of losing the screen or of al- 
lowing the waste pipe to become clogged while the 
screen is out. Practice does not prove the objec- 
tions to be well founded, while good design 
and good sanitation seem to require such a provision 
to keep the fixture in a wholesome condition. The 
standing overflow plug is regarded with favor 
if the basin is recessed at the back to allow its 
use. This must have a carefully ground seat or 
rubber washer and should be cleaned frequently. 
The greatest simplicity is to be sought in the de- 
vices to control the waste outlets of lavatories. In- 
tricate mechanism is likely to have too much foul- 
ing surface to warrant its use. In erecting all fix- 
tures we are careful to have impassable barriers 
placed between the air of the soil pipe and that of 
the house. To be entirely consistent we must see 
to it that the lavatory waste pipe and overflow are 
of sufficient size to be easily cleaned and to that 
end they must be readily accessible. In choosing 
the lavatory fixtures these points deserve to be 
kept in mind. 

The best basin cock is the combination which 
may be supplied from both the hot and cold water 
system. Only one bibb is thus presented to in- 
terfere with the use of the basin. This should be 
of a design that projects but slightly over the edge 

226 



BEAUTIFUL LAVATORIES. 



of the bowl. The tall, slender ones which throw 
the water to the center of the bowl are considered 
less desirable in modern practice. 

In the new types of lavatories many very pleas- 
ing designs have been produced. On account of 
the great weight of the solid porcelain fixture 
various pedestal designs have been brought out. 
The effect is graceful and natural. Massive fix- 
tures on slender brackets, however strong, do not 
quite satisfy the demands of the eye for supports of 
a volume proportionate with the load. The pedes- 
tal lavatories, as well as those designed to be sup- 
ported on wall brackets are made to meet all sorts 
of conditions, while a studied grace of outline is 
apparent in all of them. In the pedestal type there 
may be one or more basins on the same support. 
The w^all basins are also made single and double, 
and for public use are constructed in ranges 
of any number desired. In shape the new lava- 
tories are made to fit corners and recesses and to 
stand in the open. The less work required for 
their installation is one of the important savings 
brought about by the new integral types. There 
is no fitting of slabs to wall spaces and no adjust- 
ing and cementing of the bowl to the marble slab, 
as formerly. The cost of repairs is reduced to the 
minimum. The new order of things is welcomed 
alike by plumber and customer. The former prof- 



22"^ 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



its by the wider use of such conveniences and the 
customer becomes a more willing purchaser of 
goods that are practically indestructible and still 
within his means. 

In this evolution of a few years we have seen 
the water-closet pass through quite as many changes 
as the other fixtures. We are surprised, as we 
look back, that the pan closet was ever tolerated. 
It was unsanitary and extremely offensive, one ob- 
ject of its construction being to use as little water 
as possible. We had not then risen to the free 
use of water to which almost every one is now 
accustomed. Indeed, how the views of the world 
have broadened in this regard ! In most cities we 
are using gallons where formerly we used pints. 

From the pan closet we progressed to the plunger 
type. This consisted of a bowl whose outlet was 
stopped by a big valve or plunger situated in a 
side chamber which shut down over the sewer con- 
nection. The bowl v/as emptied by lifting the 
plunger and holding it up until the contents had 
flowed out. A chain or lever operated a slow- 
closing valve on the water pipe or in a flushing 
tank which released enough water partially to refill 
the bowl. It was a great improvement over the 
pan closet, but there was a large fouling surface in 
the side chamber of the bowl around the plunger 
that was difficult to reach. These types were con- 

228 



THE WATER CLOSET. 



demned twenty years ago and their installation is 
prohibited by ordinance in many cities. 

The aim of invention has been to get away from 
any form of mechanism in the closet bowl itself. 
The plain hopper closet was the first success in 
this direction but the amount of fouling surface 
was still too great to make it a satisfactory type. 
Although nearly or quite as old as the pan and the 
plunger closets, it is still in use, particularly for ex- 
posed places. The long hopper closet is the most 
simple device available for installation in situations 
where there is danger of freezing, but should never 
be used in a warm place, where a better type is safe. 
The hopper connection, for this purpose, is made to 
extend to a trap below the frost line and the water 
connection is provided with valve and waste situ- 
ated also beyond the reach of frost. The connection 
between the hopper and trap should be direct so that 
any obstruction may be removed. Such an in- 
stallation is to be avoided in a confined space on 
account of the long fouling surface inevitable in a 
non-freezing closet. An abundant water supply 
is desirable in order that the hopper and its trap 
connection may be well flushed before and after 
using. 

The short hopper closet was the forerunner of 
the syphon jet closet, which at the present time is 
considered the best. The defect of the short hop- 



229 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



per closet is that it requires a large supply of water 
from the flushing tank to get the water in the hop- 
per into motion. Frequently a second flushing is 
necessary to clear the hopper satisfactorily. 

The washout closets are made with several vari- 
ations in outline, according to the ideas of the 
designer. In these the water in the bowl is at a 
different level from the water in the trap. In 
operation the water simply washes the waste 
matter from the bowl over a shelf or weir 
where it passes through a trap, if the water is abun- 
dant. If not, it may stop on the near side of the 
the ordinary short hopper form. This style of 
closet has been and is destined to be extensively 
used in ordinary work. The objection to it is that 
it has a considerable fouling surface not easily 
reached. While having the appearance of being 
sanitary it falls considerably short of that ideal. 
The space between the bowl and the trap is certain 
to become foul and offensive. 

The washdown is a better type of closet, having 
its weir or dam hidden behind the wall of the bowl 
and protected by a good water seal. The noisy 
operation of the washdown and washout closets is 
one of the objections to these types. 

The syphon closet differs from the short hop- 
per style in having a deeper seal. With a suffi- 
cient flow of water from the flushing tank the bowl 



230 



TYPES OF WATER CLOSETS. 



fills until the abundant overflow in the long leg of 
the syphon sets up syphonic action, drawing out all 
the contents of the bowl until the inrush of air 
breaks the syphonage. 

The syphon jet is the standard of the present time 
in closet construction. When properly made it 
has the long-sought ideal of a limited fouling area, 
a deep seal against gases from the sewer or soil 
pipe trap, with no hiding places for filth. With lit- 
tle attention it may be kept practically odorless. 
The only fouling surface is that between the flush- 
ing rim and the surface of the water seal. This 
is always in sight. It is an improvement upon 
the syphon closet. The shapes are nearly the same 
but it has the additional feature of introducing 
a jet of water at the oottom of the trap. This jet, 
when the flushing lever is operated, quickly starts 
the water in the trap in the direction of the overflow 
and aided by the flow from the flushing rim the 
hopper is effectually emptied of its contents and re- 
filled with fresh water. The jet prevents the re- 
turn flow of any of the fouled contents of the 
bowl. The action of the closet is as nearly noise- 
less as the flov/ of water may be made. The syphon 
jet closet is the most expensive style to manufac- 
ture, requiring expert skill in molding the parts 
and putting them together so that an even shrink- 
age will take place in the firing. It is important 



231 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



that they be made of the best materials in order 
that they may not fracture easily, as the cheap 
ones are pretty certain to do sooner or later from 
slight shock. The purest white china of best qual- 
ity should be insisted upon for any installation. 

Closet seats and covers of every conceivable 
shape and of several kinds of wood are ob- 
tainable. The best varieties are oak, cherry, ma- 
hogany and walnut. Cross strips, dowels or bolted 
sections are usually necessary to prevent splitting 
from shrinkage and shock. The seat metal work 
is not always made with proper care. It should 
be of heavy brass, nickeled. The strain of con- 
stant use will result in the fracture of light fittings, 
especially the hinges. If a part is broken it may 
become necessary to buy an entire new set because 
of the difficulty in matching a particular pattern. 
It is desirable to have the closet woodwork in har- 
mony with that of the bath room where possible. 
Usually the casing about the flushing tank and the 
seat have the same finish. 

The local ventilation of water closets is not gen- 
erally practiced. These vents are merely for the 
purpose of immediately removing odors from the 
bowl and they require a positive draft outward 
continually, to be of avail. Prompt flushing some- 
times answers the same purpose. Local vents com- 
plicate the construction of the bowl, add fouling 



232 



CLOSET FLUSHING TANKS. 



surfaces and make it necessary to have an addi- 
tional connection with a ventilating flue. In case 
of the fracture of a bowl it is necessary to secure 
an exact duplicate or rearrange the connections. 
Notwithstanding these objections the local vent is 
a desirable feature and should be secured if possible. 

Floor slabs for closet bowls are less used than 
formerly, but they are desirable. While a water 
closet bowl may be set directly upon the trap or Y 
leading to the soil pipe, greater rigidity is secured 
by interposing a floor slab. When floor slabs are 
used they are made of marble, slate or soapstone. 
Slate or soapstone is preferable to the permeable 
marble. The dark color of the slate is an objection 
not present in the soapstone, which on account of 
its grayish color is less noticeable when in place. 

Flushing tanks or cisterns were for many years 
placed about five feet above the point of discharge 
in the flushing rim of the closet bowl. Manufac- 
turers then found that an enlargement of the water- 
supply flushing pipe, permitting a larger volume of 
water to be fed to the bowl, did away with the 
necessity of so much head, and the "low dow^n tank" 
came into being and finally into general use. It 
was also found that it would be far more convenient 
to have the tank down where it could be looked into 
easily, while it might be made narrow and higher 
to give it equal capacity with the high tank, so as 



233 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



not to encroach seriously upon the limited space of 
the bathroom. 

The low tank is therefore sometimes preferred 
in new installations. Sooner or later the best of 
tanks must be repaired and one needs to be familiar 
with its operation or be compelled to call a plumber 
when it fails to act correctly. The convenience of 
the low tank at such a time is immediately ap- 
parent. One recommendation is its almost noiseless 
operation. A large amount of plated piping is 
eliminated, w^hich reduces expense both for labor 
and material. 

All plumbing fixtures must be separately and ef- 
fectually trapped. The trap should be as near the 
fixture as possible so that there may be little foul- 
ing surface between the fixture and its trap. The 
trap should have a good depth of seal and the flow 
of water through it should have a scouring effect 
to k^ep it cleansed. If the trap is very deep this 
is not accomplished. The back venting of all traps 
is expected to remove any likelihood of trap syphon- 
age by reason of air compression or rarefaction. Sy- 
phonage from evaporation or the capillarity of 
threads or ravelings lodged in the traps is not likely 
where the plumbing is used frequently, but needs 
to be guarded against in fixtures that are little 
used, such as stationary lavatories in unused rooms. 



234 



CHILDREN'S BATH ROOM. 



A lavatory and closet are now often provided 
on the first floor of the ordinary dwelling. This 
arrangement is found to be very desirable, saving 
many steps and much stair-climbing for members 
of the household. It is especially convenient for 
the use of guests who are in the house for a short 
time only. If placed near a small cloak and hat 
room or opening from such a room it will be the 
better secluded. The space under a stairway is 
often thus used, but unwisely so, because of the 
probable lack of light and ventilation. 

A toilet room for children has been suggested. 
Toilet fixtures for the little folks are extensively 
manufactured for primary schools and kinder- 
gartens and the equipment of such a room is a 
simple matter at moderate expense. 

A slop sink should be provided on the second 
floor rather than use the bath-room fixtures as 
a place to empty slops. The slop sink may be in- 
stalled in the room or closet where the sweeping 
and dusting materials are kept. Various styles are 
available. Some are made to fit in corners ; others 
are hopper-shaped to be placed near the floor, while 
a third is provided with a pedestal with trap inte- 
gral with the sink. They are made of solid porce- 
lain, cast iron and pressed steel coated with white 
porcelain enamel. Such sinks should have hot and 



235 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



cold water bibbs high enough to permit the use of 
pails in the sink. 

Several bath-room accessories may be men- 
tioned, all of them desirable and most of them quite 
necessary. The medicine cabinet is often placed 
in the bath room, either built in or attached to 
the wall. The portable style may be had at various 
prices up to $25. The best ones have shelves of 
thick glass with a plate glass mirror on the door. 
There should be room in the cabinet for soaps and 
toilet supplies of all sorts. For such purposes the 
cabinet needs to be of good size. It should be re- 
membered, however, that such cabinets afford a 
fine chance for dirt to collect, and a miscellaneous 
assortment of left-over and unused medicines is a 
mournful sight. 

Towel rails and hooks cannot be too plentiful in 
the bath room. Rails of glass in nickeled supports 
are among the favored fixtures. A stout nickeled 
rail along the back of the bath tub which may 
serve the double purpose of a hand rail and towel 
holder is a useful fixture. The fatal accident to 
Mrs. Henry Tilford, of Louisville, Ky., while visit- 
ing the family of Mayor Tom L. Johnson, of Cleve- 
land in September, 1906, is an emphatic reminder 
that danger lurks in the modern bath. Mrs. Til- 
ford slipped and fell in a bath tub, fracturing her 
skull against the tub. To prevent such accidents 

236 



BATH ROOM REQUISITES. 



rubber mats for the bottom of the tub are pro- 
vided and every tub should have one. Mats are 
also made to fit the roll rims of tubs. 

Much comfort is to be had also from bath tub 
seats. Of these there are two types, one a stool 
with rubber-tipped feet to stand in the tub, the 
other an adjustable seat suspended from the sides 
of the tub. A style of tub is made with the seat 
in it at one end, integral with the tub. It is really 
a terrace in the tub, on which the bather may sit. 
Its popularity is yet to be demonstrated. 

Ingenuity has devised many forms of soap cups, 
sponge cups, drinking glass holders and tooth 
brush racks, all of which are needed in the com- 
plete equipment of the bathroom. In no place is a 
good mirror more serviceable and several of them 
are not out of place in the decoration of the room. 



237 



Chapter XVI. 



LIGHTING THE HOME. 

Gas as an illiiminant. Individual gas plants. Proper 
distribution of gas. Clever and useful gas ap- 
pliances. Acetylene lighting plants. Lighting 
by electricity. Economical devices in electric 
lamps. Individual electric plants. 

'TpHE art of illumination has long since grown 
to such dignity that men have given it schol- 
arly attention and a new profession, that of illumi- 
nating engineer, has arisen. This engineer finds 
his most profitable field of labor in the artificial 
lighting of public buildings, public streets and 
places ; churches, clubs, schools, libraries, steam- 
ships and the palatial homes of very wealthy citi- 
zens. He has at his command newly discovered and 
wonderful forces, the fruits of exhaustive scientific 
research and experiment and the valuable products 
of patient invention. Out of the vast store of de- 
vices for illumination and the several practicable 
illuminants it is his office to choose those best 
adapted to his purposes. He must determine the 
conditions, estimate the power of his light units and 

238 



DIFFUSED LIGHT. 



so dispose them that they shall yield the required 
amount of light with as little waste of illuminating 
values as his experience will enable him to do. 

The ordinary dwelling does not come in for 
much scientific study in matters of artificial illumi- 
nation. The architects generally suggest the the- 
ory that the artificial lights should illuminate the 
room from the same direction as the mediums of 
natural light, the windows. The arrangement of 
furnishings in a room usually has some relation 
to the windows and the light therefrom. It has 
been suggested therefore that the daylight harmony 
of light and shadows should be preserved by the 
artificial lighting. The discussion usually ends by 
barging the chandeliers in the center of the room 
where a single light will give the greatest service. 

The human eye is most at ease in a diffused light. 
Artists select for their studios rooms having north 
windows, finding that the north light is most fa- 
vorable for determining fine differences in color 
and the light is more even throughout the day. The 
eye during the countless ages of its development 
has become accustomed to receive the light from 
above and any reversal of that plan is attended 
with painful effects. Snow blindness, sand blind- 
ness and water blindness are examples of injury 
from light entering the eye from below. The In- 
dians of Alaska are credited with making a kind 



239 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



of leather goggles with a flap which prevents the 
reflected light of the sun on the snow from en- 
tering the eye. These are said to be a complete 
protection against such injury. In the grape grow- 
ing region of New York state the pruning of the 
vines is often carried on in winter when the snow 
is on the ground. Cases of severe injury to the 
eyes from sunlight reflected from the snow are quite 
common, due to ignorance of the fact that the eye 
must be protected against a strong light entering 
from below. The eye can bear the strongest sun- 
light at midday, yet it strives to avoid the direct 
rays of the sun as it approaches the horizon with 
less than a hundredth part of its midday brilliancy. 
These observations are intended to emphasize 
the importance of having the lights in the house 
so elevated that they may not shine directly in the 
eyes, particularly if such a white light as the Wels- 
bach, the Nernst glower or the acetylene flame is 
used. Practice favors the center of the principal 
rooms as the best location for the chandelier. Where 
many incandescent electric lights are available they 
are very pretty and effective when placed along 
the frieze of a coved ceiling. The central chan- 
delier may be supplemented by wall brackets placed 
where extra light is wanted. In the chambers wall 
brackets are generally preferred. The error is 
often made of placing them too low and using in- 



240 



COST OF GAS. 



tense lights not sufficiently covered with diffusing 
opalescent globes. 

Lighting fixtures are available in such infinite 
variety that no attempt can be made to describe 
them. The general style is changing continually so 
that an experienced person may almost tell in what 
year a house was built by observing its lighting fix- 
tures. The tendency is toward better quality, the 
dealer taking pains to discourage the use of those 
that will not give good service. One may spend a 
large sum in buying his lighting appliances or for a 
moderate sum may secure a better equipment than 
ever before was available. 

Gas made from coal, enriched by the addition of 
various other materials, is the most common illu- 
minant. It is only a little more than a hundred 
years since illuminating gas was first used and less 
than a century since it first was applied to public 
illumination in London. It is less than fifty years 
since the present economical methods of manufac- 
ture were invented. Improvements from time to 
time have reduced the cost until now in many large 
cities the price is less than one dollar per thousand 
feet. The public gets the gas at about the cost of 
manufacture and the companies depend upon the 
by-products for their profits. It may be said that 
in none of the public utilities does the public get 
such a large value for its money, yet few corpora- 



241 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



tions that deal so intimately with the public come 
in for such a large share of abuse. 

In piping the house for gas one needs to look 
well ahead for possible requirements. In addition 
to the openings for chandeliers and brackets in 
places designated by the architect, it is pretty cer- 
tain that extra gas connections will be required in 
the kitchen for a gas range and range boiler heater, 
and in the laundry for heating water or flat irons, 
if the ironing is to be done in the laundry. In some 
of the rooms there may be artificial logs in the 
grates or asbestos fronts to be supplied with gas 
for heating on cool days or for supplementing the 
furnace or radiators during extreme weather. If 
these are provided when the house is in the rough, 
before lathing, plastering or floor laying has been 
done, the extra cost is trifling. 

Gas is served to the consumer under very slight 
pressure — only a few ounces per square inch. But 
even under such pressure there is often leakage of 
pipes with frightful accidents sometimes occurring 
as a result of careless piping. The escape of gas 
in a confined place soon causes trouble and often 
much expense. The careful gas-fitter makes sure 
that his pipes are free from obstructions by looking 
through them or blowing through them at the time 
of putting them in place. He sees that the threads 
on the ends of the pipes are well painted with red 



242 



METER SETTING. 



lead before screwing them into the coupHngs or 
other fittings and he caps all openings immediately 
to prevent anything from getting into them. When 
he has all the piping in place he puts on a pressure 
of four pounds to the square inch with an air pump 
made for the purpose. This is supplied with a 
gauge which will indicate any leakage. The pres- 
sure is left on for 24 or 48 hours and if no leak is 
shown he calls the owner and architect together 
and asks for a certificate that the pipes have been 
tested and the system proven to be perfect. This 
protects him against responsibility for any future 
accidents due to work around the pipes by carpen- 
ters or other workmen. 

Recently there have come into limited use gas 
burners in which the gas is heated before reaching 
the tip. A nearly white light is the result. In some 
of these the burner is inverted so that no shadows 
are caused by fixtures below the light. 

The setting of the meter is left to the gas com- 
pany, the street service pipe having been put in 
at the time of digging the cellar. The service pipe 
should have a sufficient grade to cause the water 
of condensation to flow back into the main. If it is 
necessary to have the connection lower than the 
main, a waste cock must be provided where the 
water may be drawn from the pipes from time to 
time when the lights flicker. The whole piping sys- 



243 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



tern should be so constructed that any water gath- 
ering in the pipes may be drained. 

The meter may be put in near the cellar wall or 
it may be connected at some more convenient point 
by extending the service pipe. Where the slot 
meters are used they should be placed in an easily 
accessible place with good light on the dials for 
the reader's convenience. Thorough instruction 
to the consumer as to the use and operation of 
the slot meters is one of the essentials in placing 
such gas measuring devices. The gas company 
here again comes in for a great deal of harsh talk 
on the part of the user who imagines that the 
meter has measured more gas than he has con- 
sumed. He doesn't understand the meter. In the 
ordinary gas meter the gas is measured by the 
action of diaphragms which are actuated by the 
gas pressure. The movement of the diaphragms 
back and forth causes the hands on the indicator 
dials to revolve. Any leak in the diaphragm or 
any inaccuracies in the valves that connect the 
chambers behind the diaphragms will allow gas to 
pass to the burner without registering. But the 
dials will not register unless the full amount of 
gas passes through, plus the leaks which are al- 
ways in the consumer's favor. A correct knowl- 
edge of the operation of a gas meter tends to 
preserve the peace of mind of the householder who 



244 



ELECTRIC LIGHTING. 



might otherwise imagine that he was suffering loss 
through the unwarranted activity of the meter. 

When the development of electric lighting threat- 
ened the illuminating gas industry the Welsbach 
burner was placed on the market, greatly broad- 
ening the use of gas for illumination. The fact 
that gas may be used for light and heat and for 
the kitchen range has established it more firmly in 
popular favor. Many improvements have been 
made from time to time extending the usefulness 
of the Welsbach burner until now it is the simplest 
and most effective gaseous illuminant available in 
the chief cities. 

The electric incandescent lamp has one marked 
advantage over the gas lamp in that it does not 
consume oxygen or vitiate the atmosphere of the 
house in any degree. It is deficient in lighting 
power in comparison with the Welsbach burner, 
with cost apparently considerably in the favor of 
the latter. It lends itself more readily than any 
other form of light to decorative purposes and is 
safer than any other illuminant in the great va- 
riety of its uses in artistic work. The fact that any 
number of lights may be turned on by throwing a 
single switch gives it wide usefulness. In many 
small towns incandescent lights are extensively 
used for domestic illumination. The over-capitali- 
zation of electric companies in the larger cities and 



245 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



the necessity for earning dividends on such exces- 
sive capital stock apparently has restricted the op- 
erations of such companies to the more profitable 
field of arc lighting and where conditions impera- 
tiely require the incandescent light at the higher 
price, regardless of the competition of gas. 

The relatively high price for incandescent lights 
in the larger cities has resulted in the general in- 
stallation of independent plants for office build- 
ings, stores and industrial concerns. Requirements 
in such places have far outgrown the limitations of 
gas which must needs remain the illuminant for 
small establishments and the city home where cir- 
cuit lighting is not necessary. 

Countless novelties are to be had in electric 
lamps and fixtures. One of the most useful is 
one which permits the lamp to be operated at 
various degrees of brightness, saving the current 
and avoiding a bright light where it is not wanted. 

The amount of illumination required for any 
apartment cannot be determined in advance of its 
completion and furnishing. Walls and ceiling of 
a light color will reflect the rays while dark colors 
absorb it. Light shades are always to be preferred 
in the ceiling and upper walls of rooms where good 
illuminating effects are wanted. 

Where electricity is to be used for lighting, the 
conduits for wires should all be put in place before 

246 



NERNST LAMPS. 



the lath and plaster are put on. Wire for the incan- 
descent system is not expensive and conduits should 
be extended to all places where light is likely to be 
required, with extensions to switchboards in the 
most convenient places. Arc lights are entirely 
unsuited to small interiors. A particular advan- 
tage of the incandescent light is that it may be 
turned on in any part of the house in advance of 
entering the apartment. 

The Nernst lamp is the latest claimant for pub- 
lic favor in the electrical field of illumination. Two 
small tubes are heated to incandescence by the elec- 
tric current, the steady glow giving a strong light. 
It is especially valuable for lighting large interiors 
and for street illumination. Economy of current is 
one of the advantages claimed for it. The light is 
so intense that it is always covered with a white 
globe for its effective diffusion. It is used on a 
225-volt current and the smallest of the lights is 50 
candle power or twice the strength of the usual 
acetylene flame. The small Nernst lamps are 
adapted to house illumination, the globes being 
placed rather higher than the ordinary chandelier. 

It is quite as easy a matter to equip the isolated 
home in the suburbs or far out in the country with 
an up-to-date lighting system as it is with a sys- 
tem of water supply. Two means for such light- 
ing are available, gasoline and acetylene. The gas- 



247 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



oline is placed in an underground tank situated at a 
safe distance from the house and other buildings. 
Air pressure is maintained by a hand pump placed 
in the basement where a gauge also should be in- 
stalled. The house is piped as for ordinary gas 
and the Welsbach burner is used. The gasoline 
flame may be used also for baking and cooking in 
stoves made for the purpose. 

Cheap acetylene is one of the most recent gifts of 
science to the practical world. The gas itself has 
long been known to chemistry but it was in the 
early '90s that a practical method of generating it 
was discovered. The gas is the product of carbide 
of calcium when combining with water. The car- 
bide consists of finely ground coke and quicklime 
combined under a heat of 4,000 degrees in an elec- 
tric arc. The proportions are 40 per cent coke to 
60 per cent lime. The resulting combination is a 
hard mass of a brownish gray substance which, 
when removed from the furnace, is crushed and 
packed in air-tight cans, being then ready for the 
consumer. The acetylene burner in common use 
burns half a cubic foot per hour, giving far better 
illumination than a 6-foot gas burner, as shown by 
photometric and other tests. The price of car- 
bide at this writing, November, 1906, is 5 cents per 
pound in 100-pound lots and 33^ cents by the ton. 
One pound produces about 5 cubic feet of gas so 

248 



ACETYLENE GAS. 



that the cost of illumination is about half a cent 
per hour per burner, with carbide at 5 cents. The 
one-half foot burners are rated at 25-candle power, 
being considerably greater than the common fish- 
tail gas flame. It possesses more nearly the prop- 
erties of sunlight than any other illuminant. 

Many forms of generators have been invented 
for the production of acetylene gas from the car- 
bide. The conditions required in a good genera- 
tor are that gas shall be produced in very small 
quantity under automatic control, whether supply- 
ing one burner or several ; that the generation of 
gas shall be attended with as little heat as possible ; 
and that the charging of the generator with car- 
bide and the removal of the residuum may be easily 
done. Two applications are used, namely, water 
to carbide, also called the drip principle, and car- 
bide to water. The latter seems generally to be 
preferred except that difficulty is found in produc- 
ing a mechanism that will deliver the carbide to 
the water as wanted. On account of the consider- 
able heat attending the chemical changes due to the 
contact of w^ater with the carbide it is desirable 
that a liberal amount of water be used. A tem- 
perature in excess of 140 degrees reduces the effi- 
ciency of the gas. 

The safety of acetylene has often been ques- 
tioned. It is difficult to make any gas-generating 



249 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



system fool-proof but the best generators are nearly 
so. By observing the rule that no lights are to be 
taken near the generator when charging or re- 
moving the waste no danger can result. The work 
around the, generator should be done during the 
day when no artificial light is needed. The air 
becomes explosive when mixed with 12.5 per cent 
of acetylene, the same as it does with common 
illuminating gas. Common gas escaping from a 
6-foot burner in a room might become explosive in a 
few hours, while acetylene would require twelve 
times as long, as the largest acetylene burner uses 
but half a foot per hour. Acetylene is not a poison- 
ous gas and if allowed to escape in a room will 
awaken the sleeper by irritating the throat. The 
flame has the least effect on the air of any of the 
illuminants except electricity, producing only a 
minute quantity of carbon dioxide and consuming 
but a small amount of oxygen. 

When acetylene is substituted for ordinary gas 
the piping of the house may be the same, except 
that special tips are required, costing about 25 cents 
each. One hundred dollars will buy one of the best 
generators. The whole process is exceedingly 
simple and when the premises are equipped with 
such a system a city home can rarely boast of having 
a better means of illumination. 



250 



Chapter XVIL 



THE STABLE. 

Stable heating and plumbing. Water supply. Spe- 
cial stable drainage. Sanitary care of manure. 
Carriage zmshers. Stable fittings. 

'T^HE private stable may be a modest affair or 
a costly structure, but there are certain essen- 
tials to be considered for the sake of economy and 
convenience and no effort should be spar'^d to 
make it inoffensive. There is such a thing as a 
practically odorless stable, but it must be something 
more than a shed and stalls. It must have good 
equipment and fixtures and the laws of sanitation 
must be observed to the letter. 

The stable with four or six stalls is of good 
size. Two of them should be for stalls, or spaces 
convertible into box-stalls. If we are to keep 
down the odors, the floor, walls and ceiling should 
be of impervious materials. A waiscoting six feet 
high of glazed brick, with plaster above, makes 
a good wall. The ceiling may be plastered and 
paneled with cross beams. A concrete floor with 
a finishing coat of rich cement slightly roughened 



251 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



with a broom when still soft makes an impervious 
surface that may be washed down with the hose, 
yet not slippery. Before the concrete is laid where 
the stalls are to be, the stall drains should be put 
in so that the iron plates over the drains will come 
f nsh with the floor when finished. 

The floor of the stalls may be sloped and 
grooved so that the fluids may be removed quickly 
by gravity to a drain just behind the animals or 
an additional drain may be put in running cross- 
wise of the stalls just in front of the hind feet, 
connecting at the end of the range of stalls with 
the main drain. Another form of drain is a 
branch from about the center of the stall to the 
main drain at the rear of the animal. This com- 
pels the animal to stand on the iron cover of the 
drain much of the time. The stable drains should 
be accessible throughout their length so that they 
may be flushed frequently. The removable covers 
have perforations sufficient to allow the entrance 
of fluid and by the free use of water all waste 
may be driven to the sewer or drain outside the 
buildinj^". Such drains and gratings are purchas- 
able from various concerns engaged in supplying 
stable fittings. The main purpose to be kept in 
mind is so to construct the floor and its system of 
drainage as to pi event the contact of the fluids 
with absorbent materials. For this reason com- 



252 



PREVENTING FLIES. 



mon brick do not seem to be a suitable material 
for stable floors. Good cement is cheaper and 
more easily laid and offers the advantage of a 
continuous and impermeable surface. 

The prevention of the breeding of flies in the 
manure and waste is one of the objects of good 
stable construction and so is the prompt and 
proper care of the fluids and droppings. The stable 
should be well screened with brass wire-cloth 
screens. The ammonia arising from stable waste 
will cause iron wire-cloth to rust rapidly. The 
manure heaps that are not effectively covered and 
screened and the open garbage cans and heaps are 
the principal sources of those summer pests, the 
house and stable fly. The presence of flies in 
annoying numbers is due to carelessness and neg- 
lect. It ought not to be necessary to have special 
ordinances compelling stable owners to screen all 
manure pits and to drain their stables and keep 
them well ventilated and in a fresh and sweet con- 
dition. But we shall not be even partially rid of 
the fly nuisance without stringent laws rigidly 
enforced. 

While the manure pit should be of ample di- 
mensions, securely covered and ventilated through 
brass wire-cloth screens, the manure, especially 
in summer, should be removed frequently. The 
pit should be large enough for a man to work in 



253 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



handily when removing the contents. If the floor 
of the pit may be as high as the top of a wagon 
box, or even higher, it will facilitate the removal 
of the manure. Such an arrangement may be 
planned easily when the stable is built on sloping 
ground. Again, the stable drain may discharge 
into the manure pit if it is desired to save all stable 
refuse for fertilizing purposes. In such case, and 
preferably in all cases, the floor of the manure pit 
should be water-tight so that the fluids may be 
soaked up by the drier contents of the pit. 

In good construction the mangers and water 
pots as well as the hay racks are of metal. They 
may be kept cleaner than wood and are practically 
indestructible. They are far less likely to com- 
municate disease than the wood mangers, if it 
happens that other animals are temporarily placed 
in the stalls. For farm purposes the use of metal 
feed troughs and mangers is becoming common, 
perhaps on account of economy as much as be- 
cause of sanitary consideration. 

In the city stable, with its few animals and 
abundant help, the question of convenient location 
for the provender room is not considered. Hay is 
bought in the form of bales and the oats a small 
quantity at a time. Where there are many animals 
and few hands must do much work it is desirable 
to have an alley from which all mangers and hay 



254 



STABLE EQUIPMENT. 



racks are accessible. The feed may then be dis- 
tributed rapidly. Where the hay and grain bins 
are on the second floor a chute to each manger 
is found convenient, and one from each grain bin 
to the first floor makes the grain supply always 
convenient. It scarcely need be said that the grain 
bins should be of metal or lined with tin or sheet 
iron to keep out the mice, which are an inevitable 
pest always to be provided against. 

One may go as elaborately into stable equip- 
ment as his means will allow, or he may plan a 
simple and comparatively inexpensive stable, yet 
free from the usual objections if the essentials 
already noted are provided. 

The stalls may be divided by handsome parti- 
tions of varnished wood in natural colors with 
wrought iron or cast iron grill above. Iron 
terminal posts at the ends of the stall partitions 
may be had in various ornamental styles or plain 
patterns. A particularly fine stall has a solid por- 
celain manger worth $20 to $30. Others are lined 
with white enamel. Wrought iron and cast iron 
hay racks made to fit a corner or the flat wall 
are so constructed as to prevent waste of hay. Box 
stalls may be fitted with sliding or swing doors with 
fancy hardware trimmings. Watering troughs are 
made of solid porcelain, iron with vitreous en- 
amel and galvanized iron. Sinks for washing har- 



255 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



ness are made of the same materials. Watering 
troughs are fitted with protected ball cocks so that 
they may refill as fast as the water is used. 

The harness room should be of ample size. 
Something more than a mere closet is desired, 
where all the harness may be kept and the room 
separately locked. A special table or "horse" is 
manufactured for use in cleaning harness. The 
place for this is in the harness room. Various de- 
vices are also made which may be suspended from 
the ceiling to facilitate cleaning. The room may 
contain also a cabinet for the various medicines, 
soaps and small supplies of the stable. The room 
should have proper hooks and racks upon which 
appliances may be kept without losing shape. These 
may be had in the exact forms wanted. Covers 
should be provided for the best harness and there 
should be plenty of rails on which the folded 
blankets and robes may be kept. 

An orderly stable even if not an expensive one 
is desirable, yet the tendency generally is toward 
disorder and carelessness in respect of things about 
this part of the premises. If a place is provided for 
the necessary things there will be a better regard 
for tidiness and the better care of the horse furnish- 
ings as well as of the animals themselves. Brooms, 
shovels, forks, whips, saddles, girths, yokes, poles 
and shafts all should have their proper hooks, racks 

256 



STABLE EQUIPMENT. 



or other supports. Pails shoiild have a special 
bench and grain measures and baskets may be 
placed in wall holders near the chutes. Wheeled 
racks are very convenient to receive the harness 
from the horses, thence to be rolled to the harness 
room. It is a simple contrivance, saves walking 
and also saves the harness. Other conveniences are 
sponge racks, soap boxes, chamois boxes, brush 
boxes, salt boxes, manure cans of galvanized iron, 
doing away with the necessity for a manure pit. 
A metal feed car on two wheels to take the feed 
from the provender room to the stalls is another 
labor-saving device. 

Carriage jacks are quite a necessity and they 
are made in dozens of styles. Where a special 
wash-room is provided for carriages a jack which 
lifts the entire vehicle off the floor at once is not 
only convenient but saves much time. Another 
feature of the washing- room is a hose swinging 
from a pivot in the ceiling. This arrangement re- 
quires only a short length of hose which may be 
swung quickly to any point around the vehicle. It 
is quite desirable to have the water tempered at 
times in the stable. This result may be secured by 
having the carriage washing-room warmed by a 
coal-burning water-heater attached to a range boiler 
of large capacity. Unless other means of heating 



257 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



are provided it will be necessary to keep a continu- 
ous fire in the heater during the cold weather. 

It is not desirable to have many doors to a stable 
on account of drafts. A low temperature is best for 
all animals, but while at rest they need to be pro- 
tected from direct drafts. On the other hand the 
stable should have good ventilation both summer 
and winter. Fresh, clean air is quite as necessary 
to the well-being of domestic animals as for the 
human family. Two or three ventilator shafts tak- 
ing the air from the upper part of the stable-room 
will be most effective. If a warm chimney flue con- 
nection can be made the ventilation outlets may be 
placed near the floor, the warmth of the chiminey 
keeping the air in motion. 

Fixtures are available for use in grain chutes, 
such as the cut-off and measuring devices. Others 
contain a device for cleaning the oats as they fall 
from the bin. Where a chute is used the bottom 
of the bin should be hopper-shaped so that old stock 
may not lie too long in the corners. 

A very strong wooden tub for washing and soak- 
ing the feet of horses is another one of the stable 
necessities. These tubs are made preferably with 
brass or bronze hoops and handles, and though 
rather more expensive, they have lasting qualities 
that compensate for the extra cost. 

258 



HEATING THE STABLE. 



The carriage door casings and exposed corners 
of buildings always should be protected by wheel 
guards. These guards may consist of curved rods 
placed obliquely against the building or casing and 
imbedded in the ground or may be solid castings in 
plain or ornamental designs. 

Where hot water or steam heat is used in the 
house, the stable often may be heated from that 
source, having pipe and radiator connections the 
same as for the house. Usually the location of the 
stable is beyond the effective range of the house 
hot-air furnace and such a connection would in any 
event be undesirable, owing to the likelihood fre- 
quently of a back-draft from stable to house. A 
small, independent hot-air furnace may be installed 
in the stable basement or upon the main floor for 
the protection of the plumbing to heat the few 
rooms in the stable occupied by employees. 

The plumbing of the stable needs to be done with 
the same care as that in the house. All fixtures 
should be of the best character installed according 
to latest practice. All connections need to be safely 
trapped and ventilated. The stable drain when 
connected with the sewer should lead first to an 
open receiving basin with proper screen and trap 
where straw and other coarse particles may be ar- 
rested and removed. This permits the flushing of 



259 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



open drains and the basin and the prevention of 
accumulations of filth at any point. 

Where a coachman is employed there should be 
no lack of provision for his comfort and conve- 
nience. If a single man, he may be accommodated 
in a suite of rooms on the second floor of the stable 
over the harness or carriage room. Here should 
be a small sitting room, bedroom, bathroom and a 
commodious closet for his livery and other belong- 
ings. 

If the man to be employed as coachman is a mar- 
ried man, the quarters should include the usual ac- 
commodations of a small and complete cottage with 
three or four rooms on the ground floor. The fore- 
runner of good service is ample provision for the 
coachman's well-being in all particulars. He may 
then respond to his duties with facility, correct in 
his dress and immaculate in his neatness. A slov- 
enly coachman is not wanted by anyone, but often 
it is not entirely the coachman's fault if his equip- 
ment is rusty and his appearance against him. 

Before the plans for a stable are made it will save 
much time if the catalogues of various firms which 
supply stable fittings are consulted. New ideas are 
constantly being evolved and they come to the at- 
tention of the public through the advertising of the 
houses producing them. This advertising literature 
is of the greatest value, showing what is the best 

260 



STABLE HARDWARE. 



practice and having many suggestions that can be 
secured in no other way. The inventions and ap- 
pHances that have stood the test of years are spread 
before the eye in these catalogue pages and in a 
few moments the interested person may sweep 
through the stages of progress in stable construc- 
tion and equipment and take his pick among the 
things that today are considered best. 

A special line of hardware for the stable is now 
manufactured, in response to a demand that could 
not be ignored. Correct knowledge of what is 
available will bring the most satisfactory result in 
the finished stable. 



261 



Chapter XVIII. 

ELECTRICITY IN THE MODERN 
HOME. 

Reasonable cost. Kitchen and dining room appli- 
ances. Sezving room motors. Electricity in the 
sleeping room. Electrically heated coverlets, 
carpets, rugs, and lounging robes. 

npHE modern home is not complete unless it is 
wired throughout for electric current, as there 
are no labor saving devices of greater importance 
than those of the home which are now available 
operated by electric current. Provision should be 
made for electric lights with convenient recep- 
tacles for heating devices and electric motors 
to be used on the electric lighting circuits. The 
price of electric current in the home is being 
reduced by electric companies throughout the 
United States. At Schenectady electric current 
is sold for cooking, baking and ironing at the 
rate of 5 cents per kilowat. At Buffalo the 
current for lighting has been reduced to 9 cents 
at a maximum and this price will undoubt- 
edly be lowered in the near future by popular de- 
mand and a 4 or 5 cents rate made for electric 

262 



ELECTRIC APPLIANCES. 



cooking and heating . devices as well as for the 
operation of motors during the day time. While 
these places have hydro-electric power, Schenec- 
tady from the Spiers Falls water power plant and 
Buffalo from the Niagara power house, and the 
prices of current have been somewhat reduced, 
still lower rates are looked for and will be de- 
manded by the public, and wherever current can 
be obtained at low prices during the daytime for 
heating and power load electric current can be util- 
ized in the homes to special advantage. In these 
and other cities it will be found that fewer residences 
are lighted by electricity than in many country 
towns, and the contractors, builders, house ovv^ners, 
and electric companies should awaken to the fact 
that the people are demanding greater conveniences 
in their homes and it is time to meet these demands 
obtaining profit thereby. 

In the dining room electric outlets are provided 
for using the electric chafing dish, the coffee perco- 
lator and the water heater, and in the kitchen elec- 
tric cooking apparatus, electric knife sharpeners 
and coffee grinders can be employed to advantage. 
In the laundry the electric flat iron is available and 
electric washing machine motor does its work with 
rapidity and satisfaction. These electric labor sav- 
ing devices greatly lighten the work of the house- 
wife and the domestics. In the den and on the 



263 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



piazza outlets are provided for electric cigar light- 
ers and in the bath room electric water heaters are 
possible as well as the heating bath, the massage 
motor, and the electric shaving cup. 

In the sewing room the electric sewing machine 
motor furnishes the necessary power, and for press- 
ing the newly made garments a small electric flat 
iron is to be had. 

In the bed chambers electric outlets are provided 
for electric heating bath, electric curling iron and 
milk warmers, while throughout the entire home 
electric lights are well arranged and electric heat- 
ing devices, electric radiators of various types and 
electric fans are employed, the radiators being of 
the luminous type. 

Many modern conveniences are now made for 
the home provided with cheap electric current such 
as the immersion heater and electric wash boiler 
in the laundry, electric ovens, pancake griddles and 
broilers in the kitchen. 

It is well known that electricity, the transmitting 
agent of power and light, is also an excellent con- 
ductor of heat. By causing a certain density of 
current to pass through a conductor of determined 
resistance the energy contained in the electric cur- 
rent can be almost completely transformed into heat. 

It will be noted that this action is of immediate 
effect from the beginning to the end ; further it 

264 



FABRICS FOR HEATING. 



produces neither smoke nor combustion, conse- 
quently there is no disengagement of gaseous prod- 
ucts, either injurious or troublesome. Finally by 
observing very simple rules regulating the value of 
the current to be employed, the regulation ot the 
disengagement of heat can be effected with aston- 
ishing facility without risk of bringing about the in- 
candescence of the conductor or any danger of fire. 

These special properties have been utilized for 
electric heating for a long time, but it has not yet 
been applied largely to domestic uses in the most 
practical and economical way. 

Metallic webs forming rheostats have been man- 
ufactured and asbestos fabrics used for heating; 
but such fabrics were intended particularly for high 
temperatures by radiation and their employment 
was necessarily limited ; first they were not very well 
constructed and were wanting in flexibility. Such 
heating could admit only of certain applications 
but could not be introduced into modern houses in 
a practical manner. 

The French thermopile fabrics, it is maintained, 
are constructed with special processes of manufac- 
ture and very simple precautions are taken to avoid 
a too great heating of the conducting wires and to 
avoid running risk of deteriorating such fabrics in- 
tended for warming at mild temperatures and par- 
ticularly by contact. 



265 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 

In order to succeed in giving these fabrics great 
flexibility and suppleness it was necessary in the 
first instance to have a textile and conducting thread 
which was suitable for all fabrics and for all weav- 
ing looms. 

It is claimed that this French electro-thermic 
thread is a filament built up in such a manner that 
its textile part alone serves for traction when 
stretched, and that its conducting part is subject to 
no tension and presents a large heating surface in 
proportion to its small section. This thread is very 
supple, does not buckle in weaving and can be made 
in all sizes and with all textile materials according 
to the use for which it is designed in all kinds of 
fabrics of hemp, cotton, wool, silk; heavy fabrics 
and light fabrics. 

It is held that such thermopile fabrics also pre- 
serve first their ordinary manufacture and then 
all their appearance and all their usual suppleness; 
lastly they can be applied to all the uses of all 
similar fabrics but have the additional property 
of heating. 

The French thermopile fabrics are electrically 
auto-resistant exactly like an incandescent lamp; 
consequently, as they are employed under a de- 
termined electric tension, they can, when entirely 
spread out, only give the uniform temperature for 

266 



FABRICS FOR HEATING. 



which they have been made and that without any 
abnormal heating or dangerous electric current. 

The woven electro-thermic threads are, it is 
stated, sufficiently fine to become their own cut outs 
in case of manifest imprudence, and the thermo- 
pile fabrics are regulated to avoid any short cir- 
cuiting in their use. 

The great number of electric thermic wefts com- 
posing in circuit permits of having between two 
neighboring wefts a difference of potential of only 
from half a volt to one volt at the most. Further, 
in the case of multiple circuits, their various units 
receive the current by collector wires specially in- 
sulated and placed with a single pole in each selvage 
of the fabric. Finally the various circuits of the same 
fabric are branched in weaving in such a manner 
that the difference in potential is nil between the 
neighboring wefts of two successive circuits. There 
is therefore every security against short circuits and 
to such a point that these fabrics may be wetted and 
then caused to dry by the current itself, thereby 
permitting all humid applications. 

All danger is therefore absolutely removed, and 
there only remains possible the stoppage of the 
current, of which the causes of breakage have been 
reduced to a minimum. First, the electro-thermic 
wires are perfectly buried and almost invisible in 
a thermopile fabric ; they are so completely impris- 



267 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



oned in it that they remain intact in spite of the 
manipulations to which it is subjected, then these 
special wires never reach quite to the edges of the 
fabric; they stop short at a suitable distance and 
they are absolutely protected so that they cannot be 
affected by wear. 

It is claimed that in this way the electro-thermic 
threads leave the space for the insulated collector 
wires of the various circuits and also permit the 
invisible and easy mending of a weft accidentally 
broken. It can be readily found and the circuit 
can be very rapidly closed again. 

At the selvage the collector wires can be pro- 
vided with or without an external rheostat in or- 
der to couple at will multiple circuits for the pur- 
pose of obtaining various desired temperatures ; in 
any case these thermopile fabrics demand in their 
management only the most simple and elementary 
precautions. 

The hygienic applications include electric car- 
pets, coverings, coverlets, and knitted fabrics. 

It will be noted that the heating furnished by the 
electric thermopile realizes a considerable progress 
over all systems of heating heretofore used. Such 
heating can be obtained wherever the electric cur- 
rent is already used for lighting, by means of car- 
pets, coverings, coverlets, and lace fabrics which 
by their suppleness, elegance, comfort, are adapted 

268 



ELECTRIC HEATING. 



to all the exigencies of the most luxurious modern 
installations. 

In the house it is the least cumbersome, as a sup- 
ple wire, an electric coupling, with suitable switches, 
and fusible plug, are sufficient to convey, with se- 
curity, the current to the thermopile. 

In the bed room it is the cleanest method of heat- 
ing, in fact, it creates neither dust, nor odor, re- 
quires neither reservoir nor fuel. The carpet is a 
necessary element in the most simple furnishing 
and it harmonizes with the business office as also 
with the elegance of the most luxurious saloon. 

In the dining room or parlor it is least danger- 
ous; it presents no danger of fire or of accident 
when the fitting, which is very simple, is under- 
taken by a competent person ; it cannot give a 
greater heat than that for which it has been ar- 
ranged, provided that when in use it is completely 
spread out in the free air and is working at the 
tension arranged. 

As a covering it is claimed also to be most hy- 
gienic, it disengages neither smoke nor gas and 
borrows no element from the atmosphere more than 
does an incandescent lamp ; it produces no electric 
action. It warms persons and even the air by con- 
tact. The thermopile carpet creates the real heat- 
syphon of the atmosphere, it warms the body, giving 
a mild and absolutely uniform temperature and fin- 



269 



SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME. 



ally realizes in the purest air a cool head and warm 
feet, the acme of hygiene. 

As to the cost of operation it is most economic 
if it is duly considered that it affords heat over 
large surfaces and that it instantaneously trans- 
forms into heat all the electricity it receives ; so soon 
as it is placed in circuit at the exact moment of its 
use and all is finished as soon as the current is 
broken. It therefore does not give rise to any lost 
heat. 

It is held that the electric thermopile by all its 
advantages of comfort and hygiene offers the ideal 
of domestic warming in its numerous applications 
of soft carpets of all dimensions, as foot warmers 
and oriental carpets. The Oriental Gobelin is 
woven with electro thermic threads and most beau- 
tiful colorings. It offers supple and light coverings 
for lounging chairs, instantaneous bed warmers, 
elegant counterpanes of great luxury, in which 
warmth is obtained at will and very simply. 

It is stated that all kinds of material can be em- 
ployed in the manufacture and covering of thermo- 
pile fabrics, in order to permit of the most perfect 
applications in our most modern residences. 

The electric thermopile is made generally so as 
to give 85° to 95° F. for carpets, and 70° to 80° 
F. for coverlets in ordinary temperatures. It can 
be made for all temperatures, but those mentioned 



270 



HEATING BY FABRICS. 



are the most agreeable in order to avoid being incon- 
venienced by too great a heat ; if these temperatures 
appear low at first and particularly to the simple 
touch, their use for some minutes is sufficient to 
fully demonstrate that these temperatures are sat- 
isfactory and comfortable. 

For medical purposes the backs of chairs or 
shawls of knitted electric thermic threads are very 
practical for warming the arms, back and loins 
of rheumatic subjects. 

The mean consumption of electricity by the 
thermopile is as follows, degrees Fahrenheit above 
the surrounding temperature being given in dry, 
calm air and by square meter of thermopile: 

Oriental Gobelin moquette carpets in offices and 
private rooms give 45° F. per hectowatt or 4 hec- 
towatts for 85° to 95° F. The double thick fabrics 
such as carpets, incubators and filters give heat of 
50° F. per hectowatt or 3 hectowatts for 75° to 
85° when bare, and when covered 60° F. per hec- 
towatt or 2 hectowatts for 75° to 85°. The sim- 
ple light fabrics such as coverlets, compresses 
when bare, give heat 50° F. per hectowatt or 2 
hectowatts for 65° to 75° F. and when covered 
70° F. per hectowatt or i hectowatt for 65° to 75°. 



271 



\ 9 1907 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: April 2004 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Townsfiip, PA 16066 

l-70A\ 77q.?111 



